Hazard Detection Unit Providing Intuitive Illumination-Based Status Signaling

ABSTRACT

Various methods and systems for hazard detectors are presented. Such hazard detectors may include one or more hazard sensors that are configured to detect the presence of one or more types of hazards. Such hazard detectors may include a circular or a ring-shaped light comprising a plurality of lighting elements. Such a ring-shaped light may be configured to illuminate using a plurality of colors and, possibly, a plurality of animation patterns. Such hazard detectors may include a processing system configured to cause the ring-shaped light to illuminate using the plurality of colors and the plurality of animation patterns in response to a plurality of states corresponding to the battery module and the plurality of hazard sensors.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/887,969, filed Oct. 7, 2013 (Attorney Docket No.94021-868290|NES0308-PROV) entitled “User-Friendly Detection Unit,” andclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/887,963, filedOct. 7, 2013 (Attorney Docket No. 94021-868456|NES0318-PROV) which areeach hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

FIELD

This patent specification relates to systems, devices, methods, andrelated computer program products for smart buildings including thesmart home. More particularly, this patent specification relates todetection units, such as hazard detection units (e.g., smoke detectors.carbon monoxide sensors, etc.) or other monitoring devices, that areuseful in smart building and smart home environments.

BACKGROUND

Hazard detectors use sensors to detect substances in the air that may beharmful or that may indicate the development of a hazardous situation.For example, carbon monoxide (CO) and radon gas are substances that canbe harmful to humans and animals if exposed to high amounts. However,these substances are difficult to detect with the human senses becausethey are colorless, odorless, and tasteless. A hazard detector candetect the presence of these substances and prevent the harmful effectsof exposure by alarming to notify a user. In other instances, asubstance such as smoke, while not necessarily harmful in and of itself,can indicate the development of a hazardous situation, such as fire. Anearly alarm of the presence of such a substance can prevent thehazardous situation from developing or minimize the harmful effects ofthe situation. Interconnected hazard detectors include detectors thatare connected to a network, enabling communication between the detectorsor with a central control unit. This provides several advantages overstandalone detectors, including the ability to activate multiple alarmswhen a single detector is triggered. Hazard detectors may be certifiedunder standards defined by governing bodies and/or by companies thatperform safety testing, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Forexample, certain UL standards define thresholds for when smoke detectorsand CO detectors should sound an alarm. Certain UL standards also definethe required characteristics of the alarm, such as powering requirementsand the volume, pitch, and pattern of the alarming sound.

SUMMARY

Various methods, systems, devices, computer-readable mediums that causeone or more processors to perform the methods, an apparatuses arepresented. In some embodiments, a hazard detector is present. The hazarddetector may include a case, the case having an interior and a pluralityof exterior surfaces, wherein the interior of the case houses componentsof the hazard detector, a first exterior surface of the plurality ofexterior surfaces is configured to mount with a wall or ceiling, and asecond exterior surface of the plurality of exterior surfaces, locatedon an opposite side of the case from the first exterior surface. Thehazard detector may include a plurality of hazard sensors housed in theinterior of the case, the plurality of hazard sensors detect thepresence of a plurality of types of hazards. The hazard detector mayinclude a user input component to receive user input, the user inputcomponent being located on the second exterior surface of the case. Thehazard detector may include a light that emits light, the lightcomprising a plurality of lighting elements. The light may be capable ofilluminating in a plurality of colors and a plurality of animationpatterns. When the plurality of lighting elements is illuminated, lightoutput by the light may encircle the user input component. The hazarddetector may include a processing system in communication with theplurality of hazard sensors, the user input component, and the light.The processing system may determine a state of the hazard detector. Theprocessing system may cause the light to illuminate using at least onecolor of the plurality of colors and an animation pattern of theplurality of animation patterns in response to the determined state ofthe hazard detector.

Embodiments of such a hazard detector may include one or more of thefollowing features: The hazard detector may include a presence sensorwherein the processing system is in communication with the presencesensor. The processing system may be further configured to: receiveinformation indicative of a user presence from the presence sensor whilecausing the light to illuminate using the at least one color and theanimation pattern; and alter the animation pattern used to illuminatethe light in response to receiving the information indication of theuser presence. The hazard detector may include a microphone. Theprocessing system may be in communication with the microphone and theprocessing system may be further configured to: receive audio data fromthe microphone while causing the light to illuminate using the at leastone color and the animation pattern; and modulate illumination of thelight based on the received audio data from the microphone. Theprocessing system may be configured to module illumination of the lightbased on a volume of a user's voice received by the microphone. Theprocessing system may access a stored lookup table that relates theplurality of states to the plurality of colors and the plurality ofanimations. The processing system may identify the at least one colorassociated with the determined state and the animation patternassociated with the determined state. The plurality of animations maycomprise a rotating animation in which lighting elements of theplurality of lighting elements are sequentially increased and decreasedin brightness around the ring-shaped light. The light may include alight ring that receives and disperses light generated by the pluralityof lighting elements, wherein the light ring comprises a plurality ofrecessed regions, wherein a lighting element of the plurality oflighting elements is proximate to a recessed region of the plurality ofrecessed regions. The plurality of lighting elements may include aplurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) and each LED is positionedwithin a recess created by the plurality of recessed regions. The lightoutput by the ring-shaped light may substantially define an edge of theuser input component. The plurality of LEDs can be located between theuser input component and the first exterior surface of the case of thehazard detector. The hazard detector may include a passive infrared(PIR) detector, wherein the PIR detector is configured to sense infraredlight through the button, wherein the button is configured to functionas a lens.

A method for illuminating a light of a hazard detector may be presented.The method may include determining, by the hazard detector, a state ofthe hazard detector. The method may include accessing, by the hazarddetector, a stored lookup table that relates a plurality of states ofthe hazard detector to a plurality of colors and a plurality ofanimations. The method may include identifying, by the hazard detector,using the stored lookup table, at least one color associated with thedetermined state and the animation pattern associated with thedetermined state. The method may include causing, by the hazarddetector, the light of the hazard detector to illuminate using theidentified at least one color of the plurality of colors and theidentified animation pattern of the plurality of animation patterns.

A hazard detector apparatus may be presented. The hazard detectorapparatus may include means for detecting a presence of a hazard. Thehazard detector apparatus may include means for determining a state ofthe hazard detector apparatus, wherein the means for determining thestate of the hazard detector apparatus comprises checking a status ofthe means for detecting the presence of the hazard. The hazard detectorapparatus may include means for accessing a storage means that relates aplurality of states of the hazard detector apparatus to a plurality ofcolors and a plurality of animations. The hazard detector apparatus mayinclude means for identifying, using the storage means, at least onecolor associated with the determined state and the animation patternassociated with the determined state. The hazard detector apparatus mayinclude means for causing a lighting means of the hazard detectorapparatus to illuminate using the identified at least one color of theplurality of colors and the identified animation pattern of theplurality of animation patterns.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a hazard detector that outputsinformation via a light.

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of a hazard detector that presentsinformation via a light.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a light that encircles a user inputcomponent of a hazard detector.

FIG. 4 illustrates an external view of an embodiment of a hazarddetector with a ring-shaped light.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate an external view of an embodiment of a hazarddetector that outputs a circular pattern of light.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate front and rear perspective views,respectively, of a lens button of an embodiment of a hazard detector.

FIGS. 6C and 6D illustrate front and rear perspective views,respectively, of a light guide of an embodiment of a hazard detector.

FIG. 6E illustrates a perspective exploded view of an embodiment of ahazard detector that includes a light guide and a ring-shaped light.

FIG. 6F illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a hazarddetector that includes a ring-shaped light.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a hazard detector having LEDsarranged in a circle.

FIGS. 8A-8D illustrate an embodiment of four various visual effects thatmay be generated using a light of a hazard detector.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an embodiment of a pulse visual effect thatmay be generated using a light of a hazard detector.

FIG. 10 illustrates another embodiment of a rotating visual effect thatmay be output by a hazard detector.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of various hue range patterns whichmay be used to generate visual effects by a hazard detector.

FIG. 12A illustrates embodiments of definitions for visual effects thatmay be used by a hazard detector.

FIG. 12B illustrates various combinations of visual effects and colorthat may be used by a hazard detector.

FIGS. 13A-13D represent various variations on how a light of a hazarddetector may be illuminated to communicate information to a user.

FIG. 14A illustrates an embodiment of a method for presentinginformation via a ring-shaped light of a hazard detector.

FIG. 14B illustrates another embodiment of a method for presentinginformation via a ring-shaped light of a hazard detector.

FIG. 14C illustrates an embodiment of a method for modifying theinformation presented via a ring-shaped light of a hazard detector basedon a user's voice.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of a method for using a ring-shapedlight to emit light from a hazard detector.

FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment of a smart-home environment withinwhich one or more of the devices, methods, systems, services, and/orcomputer program products described herein may be applicable.

FIG. 17 illustrates a network-level view of the extensible devices andservices platform with which a hazard detector may be integrated.

FIG. 18 illustrates an embodiment of an abstracted functional view ofthe extensible devices and services platform of FIG. 17, with referenceto a processing engine as well as devices of the smart-home environment.

FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment of a computer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Providing intelligent information to a person in the vicinity of ahazard detector may be accomplished via a light that has a variety ofmodes. For instance, a light of a hazard detector may output multiplecolors (either at different times or simultaneously), multipleanimations, and/or present such animations at various speeds in responseto different states and/or events of the hazard detector. Such a lightmay allow a user to discern a significant amount of information from thehazard detector quickly and/or without the hazard detector making noise.Further, such a light may provide a user with guidance as to howphysical input can be provided by a user to the hazard detector: in someembodiments, light is output in the form of a ring that encircles abutton. By the user pressing the hazard detector within the ring oflight, the user may provide input to the hazard detector via the button.Such an arrangement may be especially beneficial in a darkenedenvironment. Therefore, the light may provide an indication of a stateof the hazard detector while also illuminating the location of thebutton for receiving user input.

The light of such a hazard detector may use a light guide such that afinite number of lighting elements (e.g., light emitting diodes) may beused to produce a continuous or nearly continuous ring of light outputfrom the hazard detector. For example, internal to the hazard detectorbehind the button, at least a portion of the light guide may beinstalled, such that lighting elements located behind the button, orotherwise within the hazard detector, can be used to output light viathe light guide such that it appears to a user as a ring. The button mayalso conceal a sensor, such as a passive infrared (PIR) sensor and,possibly, a lens. Accordingly, a user may press the button to provideinput, while the user's presence in front of the button may be sensed bythe hazard detector.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a hazard detector 100 that presentsinformation via a light. Hazard detector 100 may include processingsystem 110, hazard sensor 120, and light 140. It should be understoodthat additional components may be present and are not illustrated forsimplicity of understanding. For instance, hazard detector 100 mayinclude one or more power sources and a case to house components of thehazard detector.

Processing system 110 may include one or more processors. Processingsystem 110 may receive input from hazard sensor 120 and/or othersources. Based on input from hazard sensor 120 and/or other sources,processing system 110 may cause light 140 to illuminate using variousillumination modes. In some embodiments, processing system 110 includesat least two processors: a low-level processor and a high-levelprocessor. The low-level processor may handle functions related tohazard detection and may be communicatively connected with hazard sensor120. A high-level processor, which may be configured to handle functionsrelated to user input, wireless communication, and usability may controlillumination of light 140. In some embodiments, both the high and lowlevel processors are able to cause light 140 to illuminate. Suchprocessing may be divided between the high and low level processor suchthat functions of processor system 110 related to hazard detection aresubstantially isolated from other functions directed to usability. Forinstance, the low level processor may be able to cause an alarm to soundif a hazardous condition is present even if the high level processor isnot functioning properly.

Hazard sensor 120 may represent a smoke sensor or a carbon monoxidesensor. In other embodiments, hazard sensor 120 may represent some otherform of sensor that detects a hazard in the environment of hazarddetector 100. While a single hazard sensor 120 is illustrated as presentin hazard detector 100, it should be understood that in variousembodiments multiple hazard sensors may be present, such as a carbonmonoxide sensor and a smoke sensor. Further, multiple types of smokesensors may be present, such as an ionization-based smoke sensor and/ora photoelectric-based smoke sensor. Hazard sensor 120 may becommunicatively connected with processing system 110 such that, when ahazard is detected by hazard sensor 120, processing system 110 receivesinput from the sensor indicative of the hazard.

Light 140 may represent a light integrated into hazard detector 100 thatoutputs light to the external environment around hazard detector 100based on input from processing system 110. Light 140 may include one ormore lighting elements, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs). Light 140may output various illumination modes that can include: multiple colors,multiple animation patterns, and/or such multiple animation patterns atvarying speeds. The color(s), animation pattern, and speed of animationoutput by light 140 may be determined based on input received fromprocessing system 110. Therefore, based on the state of hazard detector100, the color(s), animation pattern, and/or speed of the animationoutput by light 140 may vary.

It should be understood that the block diagram presented in hazarddetector 100 in FIG. 1 is highly simplified. As such, components thatare not illustrated may be present, such as a power source, case, lightguide, etc. FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of a hazard detectorthat has a light. Hazard detector 200 may represent a more detailedembodiment of hazard detector 100 of FIG. 1. In hazard detector 200,various components may be present including: processing system 110,light 140, carbon monoxide sensor 121, smoke sensor 122, battery-basedpower source 210, wireless communication module 230, user inputcomponent 222, and presence sensor 225. Additional components may alsobe present, such as a microphone and ultrasonic sensor (e.g., fordetection of movement).

Processing system 110 of hazard detector 200 may include multiplemodules. Such modules may be implemented using hardware, firmware, orsoftware that is executed by hardware. Such modules may include: statedetermination engine 241, definition lookup and output engine 242, andstored illumination definitions 243. For instance, such modules may beexecuted by a high-level processor or a low-level of hazard detector200. State determination engine 241 may be configured to determine thestate of hazard detector 200 and determine when it is appropriate toilluminate light 140. The state determined by state determination engine241 may be used to determine at least one color, animation, and/or speedfor the animation to be used by light 140. The state determined by statedetermination engine 141 may be passed to definition lookup and outputengine 242. Definition lookup and output engine 242 may use the receivedstate to access stored illumination definitions 243. Stored illuminationdefinitions 243 may be stored on a non-transitory computer readablemedium, such as a ROM or flash memory that is functionally a part ofprocessing system 110. Stored illumination definitions 243 may be in theform of one or more lookup tables or one or more databases that use thedetermined state to select: one or more colors, an animation, and/or aspeed. In stored illumination definitions 243, various colors,animations, and/or speeds of animations may be stored in associationwith various states. Therefore, definition lookup and output engine 242may use the state determined by state determination engine 241 incombination with stored illumination definitions 243 to identify: one ormore colors, an animation, and/or speed of animation to use toilluminate light 140. Further, in some embodiments, stored illuminationdefinitions 243 may indicate an amount of time for which light 140should be illuminated based on the state determined by statedetermination engine 241. Definition lookup and output engine 242 mayprovide an output to light 140 (or some other component of the hazarddetector) that causes light 140 to illuminate according to the one ormore colors, the animation, and/or the speed of animation determinedbased on the state.

Light 140 may function as detailed in relation to hazard detector 100.In hazard detector 200, two hazard sensors are present: carbon monoxidesensor 121 and smoke sensor 122. In some embodiments, multiple versionsof each of these types of sensors can be present. For instance, anionization and a photoelectric smoke sensor may be present in hazarddetector 200. When carbon monoxide sensor 121 senses carbon monoxide orsmoke sensor 122 senses smoke, indication may be sent to a processor ofprocessing system 110. This indication may be transmitted to a low-levelprocessor that triggers an alarm to sound. This low-level processor maytrigger light 140 directly to illuminate in a state indicative of ahazard or may provide input to a high-level processor that is part ofprocessing system 110 that triggers a lookup of an illuminationdefinition via stored illumination definitions 243 to determine anappropriate color, animation, and/or speed of animation to use forillumination of light 140. Regardless of whether the high-level orlow-level processor is used, a different color, animation, and/or speedmay be used for carbon monoxide as compared to smoke. In someembodiments, both the low and high level processors are capable ofcausing light 140 to illuminate.

Wireless communication module 230 may allow processing system 110 tocommunicate with a wireless network present within the structure inwhich hazard detector 200 is installed. For instance, wirelesscommunication module 230 may communicate with a wireless network thatuses the IEEE 802.11a/b/g network protocol standard for communication.Wireless communication module 230 may permit processing system 110 tocommunicate with a remote server, which may be maintained by amanufacturer of hazard detector 200 or by a third-party. The remoteserver may be configured to provide information to processing system 110about an account of a user associated with hazard detector 200. Forinstance, if an account of the user maintained at the remote serverrequires attention from a user, such indication may be provided toprocessing system 110 via wireless communication module 230. Suchindication may be provided by the remote server in response to inquiryfrom processing system 110 made to the remote server. Further,processing system 110 may transmit status information to a remoteserver. Such an arrangement may permit a user to view status informationabout the hazard detector by logging in to the remote server via acomputing device and accessing the user account.

User input component 222 may represent a component that receives inputthat can be passed to processing system 110. User input component 222may take the form of a button or switch on hazard detector 200. Bydepressing the button or otherwise actuating user input component 222, auser can provide input via user input component 222 to processing system110. For instance, user input component 222 may be used by a user todisable the alarm currently sounding by hazard detector 200. User inputcomponent 222 may be encircled or have its perimeter otherwise outlinedby light 140 (that is, by the light itself and/or by light output bylight 140). Therefore, when light 140 is active, and the user desires toprovide input, the user may simply touch or push hazard detector 200within the area defined by light 140 and/or the light output by light140.

Presence sensor 225 may detect presence in the vicinity of hazarddetector 200. Presence sensor 225 may include one or more sensors, suchas passive infrared (PIR) sensors. Presence sensor 225 may detect one ormore gestures that may be performed by user in the vicinity of hazarddetector 200 and/or may detect the presence of one or more users. Forinstance, presence sensor 225 may detect a wave gesture performed by auser. In some embodiments, multiple waves may be required to beperformed by the user in order for a wave gesture to be detected. Insome embodiments, presence sensor 225 may only be enabled at certaintimes, which may conserve power. Such presence detection may be used toenable lighting to allow a user to see in the vicinity of hazarddetector 200 and/or may be used to control and/or provide occupancy datato HVAC systems within the structure. Presence sensor 225 may beintegrated with user input component 222 such that user input component222 conceals presence sensor 225. Further, an integrated lens may bepresent such that presence sensor 225 detects the presence of usersthrough the button of user input component 222.

Hazard detector 200 is illustrated as including battery-based powersource 210 and structure power source 220. In some embodiments of hazarddetector 200, such a configuration may be present. Structure powersource 220 may be used to power hazard detector 200 when such power ispresent. Structure power source 220 may represent a hard-wiredconnection within a structure (e.g., house, building, office, etc.) thatprovides an AC or DC power to one or more hazard detectors locatedthroughout the structure. While the AC or DC power may be available asignificant percentage of time (e.g., 99.5% of the time), it may bedesirable for hazard detector 200 to continue functioning if structurepower is unavailable (e.g., during a power failure). As such,battery-based power source 210 may also be present. Battery-based powersource 210 may include one or more batteries which power the variouscomponents of hazard detector 200 when structure power source 220 is notavailable. In some embodiments of hazard detector 200, structure powersource 220 is not present. As such, hazard detector 200 may permanentlyrely on battery-based power source 210 to power components of hazarddetector 200. Structure power source 220 and battery-based power source210 are illustrated in FIG. 2 as connected with processing system 110.Processing system 110 may determine if structure power source 220 isavailable and/or check a charge level of battery-based power source 210.It should be understood that, while structure power source 220 andbattery-based power source 210 are illustrated as only connected withprocessing system 110, this is for simplicity of illustration only;structure power source 220 and/or battery-based power source 210 may beconnected to the various components of hazard detector 200 as necessaryto power such components.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment 300 of a light that encircles a userinput component of a hazard detector. Embodiment 300 may represent ablock diagram of the light and user input component of FIGS. 1 and 2.Embodiment 300 may be incorporated into various forms of hazarddetectors including those described in this document, such as in FIGS. 1and 2. Embodiment 300 may include light 140, user input component 222,PIR sensor 310, lens 320, lighting elements 330, and light ring 340.Light 140 may be understood as including lighting elements 330 and lightring 340. Lighting elements 330 may include one or more components thatoutputs light. For instance, lighting elements 330 may be LEDs. In someembodiments, light 140 includes five LEDs functioning as lightingelements 330. It should be understood that in other embodiments, a feweror greater number of LEDs functioning as lighting elements 330 may bepresent.

Light 140, as illustrated embodiment 300, may encircle user inputcomponent 222. To accomplish this, light ring 340 may be used. Lightring 340, which, more generally, can be referred to as a light guide,may diffuse or otherwise direct light generated by lighting elements 330to emanate a face of the hazard detector in which embodiment 300 isintegrated. Light ring 340 may be a solid piece of transparent orsemitransparent material, such as plastic or glass, that causes lightemitted by lighting elements 330 to emanate from a hazard detector inapproximately a continuous ring of light when all of lighting elements330 are illuminated. As such, light ring 340 may cause output light toappear from the exterior of the hazard detector of which embodiment 300is a part to be in the shape of a ring. This ring of light may becircular or oval. Other embodiments of light guides may cause outputlight to form some other form of perimeter, such as a perimeter of anoctagon, quadrilateral, triangle, or some other geometric or abstractshape.

User input component 222, which may be in the form of a button, may beencircled by light output by light 140. More specifically, light outputthrough light ring 340 and/or a portion of light ring 340 maysubstantially define the edge of user input component 222. As such, auser touching the hazard detector within a perimeter of light output bylight ring 340 can be expected to be touching user input component 222.Such an arrangement may be particularly useful in the dark such that,when light is emanating from light ring 340, a user only needs to touchthe hazard detector within the light output from light ring 340 in orderto press user input component 222.

User input component 222 may be integrated with presence sensor 225 asdetailed in relation to hazard detector 200. In embodiment 300, PIRsensor 310 and lens 320 are being used as the presence sensor. PIRsensor 310 may sense the presence of a user based on infrared detectionthrough the face of user input component 222. Incorporated as part ofuser input component 222 may be lens 320, which helps define a region inthe environment of the hazard detector in which PIR sensor 310 can sensethe presence of the user and/or a gesture being performed based onreceived infrared radiation.

Lighting elements 330 and at least a portion of light ring 340 may belocated behind the face of user input component 222, similar to PIRsensor 310. As such, lighting elements 330 may generate light behind theface of user input component 222 and light ring 340 may direct suchlight to a portion of light ring 340 that is present on an exterior faceof the hazard detector. Alternatively, light ring 240 may be completelyor nearly completely hidden from external view behind user inputcomponent 222; light from lighting elements 330 may be directed by lightring 340 to reflect off of a portion of a case (or, more specifically, acover plate) of the hazard detector, such as a portion of the case thatis depressed. Such an arrangement may permit individual lightingelements of lighting elements 330 to not directly face the exterior ofthe hazard detector. Such an arrangement may be beneficial for spacesavings within the hazard detector, allowing for a compactconfiguration.

FIG. 4 illustrates an external view of an embodiment of a hazarddetector 400 with a ring-shaped light. Hazard detector 400 may representthe hazard detectors of FIGS. 1 and 2, and may include the embodiment ofFIG. 3. FIG. 4 illustrates an external view of an embodiment of a hazarddetector 400. Hazard detector 400 may include case 410, light 140, anduser input component 222. Case 410 may represent a shell of hazarddetector 400 which is configured to be mounted to a wall or ceiling.Case 410 may allow airflow through hazard detector 400 to permit one ormore sensors within hazard detector 400 to be exposed to the air of theambient environment of hazard detector 400. On the side of case 410opposite the side used for mounting to a wall or ceiling, light 140 mayoutput light. The portion of light 140 visible in FIG. 4 may be aportion of a light ring that causes light generated by lighting elementshidden within the hazard detector to emanate from a face of case 410. Insome embodiments light 140 is concealed within hazard detector 400, buta portion of case 410 (or some other physical portion of the hazarddetector) is arranged to reflect light generated by light 140. Forinstance, a portion of case 410 may be depressed in order to reflect andscatter light output by light 140. More detail regarding case 410 isprovided in relation to FIG. 6E; such a case may include a cover plate,front casing, backplate, and/or mounting plate. Light 140 may includeone or more light elements, such as LEDs that are behind the face ofuser input component 222. Light 140 may be configured to present variouscolors and/or various lighting patterns, possibly with such patternspresented at various speeds.

While light 140 is illustrated as a ring (which can also be referred toas a halo), it should be understood that, in other embodiments of hazarddetector 400, other shapes may be used for light 140. For instance,light 140 may be elliptical, square, triangular, some other geometricshape, some other abstract shape, or a line. Similarly, in someembodiments, case 410 is square or rectangular, with rounded edges.While such a design may be especially pleasing to the eye, other shapes,both geometric or abstract, may be used to house the functionalcomponents of hazard detector 400. Generation of the light may occurbehind user input component 222 and may be directed by a light ring,which may also be located behind user input component 222, to emanatefrom the hazard detector in the appearance of a ring, as illustrated bythe halo-like shape of light 140. As such, in some embodiments, theentire light ring and lighting elements (which, collectively, form light140) may be located behind user input component 222 and the lightdirected by the light ring may reflect off of a recessed portion of case410 into the ambient environment of hazard detector 400 for viewing by auser.

User input component 222 may include a lens that is used in conjunctionwith a presence sensor (e.g., PIR sensor) to determine if a user ispresent and/or detect whether a gesture has been performed by user. Userinput component 222 may have its perimeter substantially defined by thelight emanating from light 140. User input component 222 may serve adual function: functioning as a lens and as a button which can be pushedby user to provide input to hazard detector 400. In some embodiments,user input component 222 is a button but does not include an integratedlens. When user input component 222 is a button, by having user inputcomponent 222 encircled by emitted light by light 140, it may be easyfor a user to locate the button in a darkened environment when light 140is illuminated. In such a situation, the user would only need to pushwithin the circle of light (the “halo”) or other region defined by light140 in order to actuate the button.

Light 140 may appear substantially centered on an exterior surface ofcase 410. Case 410 may be designed for a first exterior surface mount toa wall or ceiling. The opposite exterior surface of case 410 may includelight 140. Light 140 and user input component 222 may be substantiallycentered about an axis extending through the center of the first andsecond exterior surfaces of case 410 of hazard detector 400. In otherembodiments, light 140 and/or user input component 222 may not becentered on the exterior surface of case 410. In some embodiments, light140 may not be recessed within case 410 or may extend beyond an exteriorsurface of case 410. For example, in some embodiments, light 140 may bepresent as a recessed portion of case 410 that permits light generatedwithin case 410 (e.g., behind user input component 222) to emanate fromthe recessed portion of case 410.

In some embodiments, the location of light 140 is a depressed portion ofcase 410. From behind user input module 222 or from some other locationwithin case 410, light is emitted into the depressed portion of case410. The light reflects off of case 410 into the environment of hazarddetector 410, outlining user input module 222. Further, due to thedepressed portion of case 410, from various angles a user may be able topartially see behind user input module 222. Such a region may also beilluminated by light when light 140 is illuminated.

In some embodiments, the light elements of the light of a hazarddetector shine directly out of the hazard detector, such as illustratedin FIGS. 5A and 5B. FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate an external view of anembodiment of a hazard detector 500 that is outputting a circularpattern of light. In hazard detector 500, the lighting elements of light520 shine directly out of hazard detector 500, the light not beingredirected using a light ring. It should be understood that theprinciples detailed in relation to hazard detector 500 may also beapplied to a hazard detector that uses a light ring to direct light tothe exterior of the hazard detector. Hazard detector 500, which isillustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B in two different states of a singleanimation pattern, may represent any of the hazard detectors detailed inthis document. FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate hazard detector 500 outputtinga lighting effect or animation. This lighting effect can be output in asubstantially circular pattern and can be referred to as a circulationeffect, halo effect, or halo-sweep effect. The darker a lighting elementis shaded in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the brighter the lighting element may beilluminated. Therefore, in some embodiments, a first lighting elementmay be bright, while the lighting element immediately behind it may beslightly less bright, and so on.

The circulation effect can be caused by various lighting elements, suchas LEDs, of light 520 being illuminated at different brightness levelsat a given time. Lighting elements of light 520 are illuminatedconsecutively counterclockwise (or, alternatively, clockwise), thenfaded to off. For example, in FIG. 5A, light element 506 may be lit at afirst brightness. Shortly thereafter, light element 505 may be lit atthe first brightness level and light element 506 may have its brightnesslevel decreased to a second, lower brightness level. In FIG. 5B, moretime has elapsed and the brightness level of light element 505 has beenfurther decreased and the brightness level of light element 506 has alsobeen decreased to a level below that of light element 505. This effectresults in the appearance of a point of light “spinning” or “rotating”around light 520 with a tail. A user viewing hazard detector 500 mayview the circulation or halo effect and understand the status of thehazard detector based on the lighting effect, the speed of the effect,and/or the color of light being output by light 520. In someembodiments, when the circulation effect is being output by hazarddetector 500, each lighting element of light 520 may output the samecolor, or multiple colors may be output by different lighting elements.Imaginary arrow 501 illustrates the perceived direction of motion of thecirculation effect. It should be understood that the opposite directionis also possible and/or that such an effect may be applied to a shape oflight other than a halo, such as an ellipse, triangle, square, abstractshape or quadrangle, to name only a few examples. Imaginary arrow 502shows the perceived position of the circulation effect of hazarddetector 500 at a later time at which a different lighting element isnow the brightest lighting element with subsequent lighting elementsbeing illuminated progressively less bright.

Hazard detector 500 illustrates a large number of lighting elementsbeing present. While twenty-six light elements are illustrated, itshould be understood that this is for exemplary purposes only. Otherembodiments may have fewer or greater numbers of lighting elements. Forinstance, in some embodiments, five lighting elements are present. Ingeneral, having a fewer number of light elements may decrease productioncosts.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are respectively front and rear perspective views of alens button 600. Lens button 600 may represent a form of a user inputcomponent, such as user input component 222 of FIGS. 2 and 3. Lensbutton 600 includes a front surface 602 and a rear surface 604. Lensbutton 600 may be coupled with a front of a case, such as case 410 byattaching lens button 600 to a light ring, such as light ring 340 ofFIG. 3, and coupling light ring 340 to case 410. Lens button 600 isconfigured to be pressed by a user to provide input to a hazard detectoron which lens button 600 is mounted and/or for various other purposes,such as quieting an alarm that is sounding. Lens button 600 may betransparent or semi-transparent to one or more sensors positioned behindlens button 600. For example, in one embodiment, at least one PIR sensoris positioned behind lens button 600. The PIR sensor may receiveinfrared radiation from external objects, such as users, through lensbutton 600. Such received infrared radiation may be used to determine ifan occupant is present within a room in which hazard detector 400 ispositioned. To visible light, lens button 600 may be substantiallyopaque. As such, a user viewing lens button 600 may not be able to seeany sensor, such as a concealed PIR sensor, that is located within ahazard detector behind lens button 600. While the above descriptionfocuses on the use of a PIR sensor, it should be understood that otherforms of sensors may be located behind lens button 600 and may sensethrough lens button 600.

The rear surface 604 of lens button 600, illustrated in FIG. 6B, mayhave a Fresnel lens pattern 606 that allows the PIR sensor, or anothersensor, positioned behind lens button 600, to view into a room (or otherenvironment) in which the hazard detector is installed further than ifno Fresnel lens was present. Fresnel lens pattern 606 may besubstantially concentric around the center of the circular lens button600. In some embodiments, Fresnel lens pattern 606 may include aplurality of concentrically arranged rings that each provides a slightlydifferent viewing cone. Each concentrically arranged ring may provide aprogressively larger viewing area or cone than rings concentricallyarranged and located radially closer to a central axis of lens button600. In one embodiment, an internal angle of the viewing cones providedby Fresnel lens pattern 606 may vary from between about 15° and about150° so as to provide a viewing radius on a floor or wall positioneddirectly in front of the hazard detector at a distance of approximately10 feet or between about 0.5 m and about 8.8 m. In this manner, one ormore PIR sensors, and/or some other type of sensor, positioned behindlens button 600, may detect the presence of an occupant within a room inwhich the hazard detector is installed.

In some embodiments, no lens may be present. Therefore, button 600 mayfunction as a transparent or semi-transparent window to one or moresensors, such as a PIR sensor, to allow a user to be detected in thevicinity of the hazard detector. A user viewing lens button 600 may notbe able to see such a PIR sensor through lens button 600 due to lensbutton 600 being substantially opaque to visible light. It should beunderstood that without a lens, such as Fresnel lens pattern 606 beingpresent, the range at which the PIR sensor can detect the presence of auser based on infrared radiation may be decreased. In some embodiments,a type of lens other than Fresnel may be used. For instance, a type ofmaterial semi-transparent to infrared radiation may be used as a form oflens to control a distance at which the PIR sensor can detect a userpresence (e.g., the more transparent, the farther a distance away theuser may be sensed).

FIGS. 6C and 6D illustrate front and rear perspective views of a lightring 620 that may be used to disperse light provided by lightingelements, such as LEDs. Light ring 620 may be formed from a materialsuch as glass or plastic that is partially or substantially transparentto visible light. In some embodiments, light ring 620 may besemi-transparent, which may be useful in diffusing the light generatedby multiple light elements. Light ring 620 may provide for lighting, forexample, around lens button 600. Light ring 620 may correspond to light140 of FIGS. 1 and 2, and/or light ring 340 of FIG. 3. Light ring 620can include a body portion 622 and may be coupled with lens button 600via adhesive bonding or some other method known in the art, such asmechanical connection. In turn, light ring 620 may be coupled with afront casing (such as detailed in relation to FIG. 6E) such as byorienting light ring 620 with respect to a surface of a front casing andpressing light ring 620 axially downward relative to a front casing sothat recessed portions 625 of light ring 620 mate and couple with tabs(not shown) of the front casing. These tabs may fit over the recessedportions 625 of light ring 620 and secure light ring 620 adjacent asurface of the front casing. Light ring 620 also includes a plurality ofsecond recesses 624 within which a light element (e.g., an LED) or otherform of light element may be positioned to illuminate light ring 620. Assuch, in each recess of the second plurality of recesses, a lightingelement may be placed such that light ring 620 disperses the light. Inoperation, light ring 620 can disperse light provided by the lightelements to provide a halo effect behind and around lens button 600.

In FIG. 6E, an embodiment of a hazard detector 600E is illustrated.Hazard detector 600E represents an exploded view of a hazard detector,such as the hazard detectors detailed herein, including hazard detectors100 and 200.

In some embodiments, hazard detector 600E is a roughly square orrectangular shaped object having a width of approximately 120 to 134 mmand a thickness of approximately 38 mm. Stated differently, hazarddetector 600E is a multi-sensing unit having a fairly compact shape andsize that may be easily attached to a wall or ceiling of a home orstructure so as to be able, among other functionalities, to detect thepresence of smoke and alert an occupant therein of the potential firedanger. As shown in FIG. 6E, hazard detector 600E includes a mountingplate 641 that may be attached to a wall or ceiling of the building orstructure to secure the hazard detector 600E thereto. Mounting plate 641may represent a portion of a case (e.g., case 410) that may be mountedto a wall, ceiling, or other surface. Hazard detector 600E also includesa back plate 642 that may be mounted to the mounting plate 641 and afront casing 643 that may be coupled with or otherwise secured to backplate 642 to define a housing having an interior region within whichcomponents of the hazard detector 600E are contained. A circuit board644 may be coupled with or attached to back plate 642. Variouscomponents may be mounted on circuit board 644. For example, a smokechamber 645 may be coupled with or mounted on circuit board 644 and maybe used to detect the presence of smoke. In one embodiment, smokechamber 645 may be mid-mounted relative to circuit board 644 so that airmay flow into smoke chamber 645 from a position above circuit board 644and below circuit board 644. A speaker 646 and alarm device (notnumbered) may also be mounted on circuit board 644 to audibly warn anoccupant of a potential fire danger when the presence of smoke isdetected via smoke chamber 645. Other components, such as a motionsensor (e.g., PIR sensor), carbon monoxide sensor, microprocessor, andthe like may likewise be mounted on circuit board 644.

In one embodiment, a protective plate 647 may be attached to orotherwise coupled with circuit board 644 to provide a visually pleasingappearance to the inner components of hazard detector 600E and/or to afunnel or a direct airflow to smoke chamber 645. For example, when auser views the internal components of hazard detector 600E, such asthrough vents in back plate 642, protective plate 647 may provide theappearance of a relatively smooth surface and otherwise hide thecomponents or circuitry of circuit board 644. Protective plate 647 maylikewise function to direct a flow of air from the vents of back plate642 toward smoke chamber 645 so as to facilitate air flow into and outof smoke chamber 645.

Hazard detector 600E may also include a battery pack 648 that canprovide power to the various components of hazard detector 600E such aswhen hazard detector 600E is not coupled with an external power source,such as an AC power source of the home or structure. In someembodiments, a cover plate 649 may be coupled with the front casing 643to provide a visually pleasing appearance to hazard detector 600E and/orfor other functional purposes. In a specific embodiment, cover plate 649may include a plurality of holes or openings that allows one or moresensors coupled with circuit board 644 to view or see through a surfaceof cover plate 649 so as to sense objects external to hazard detector600E. The plurality of openings of cover plate 649 may be arranged toprovide a visually pleasing appearance when viewed by occupants of thehome or structure. In one embodiment, the plurality of openings of coverplate 649 may be arranged according to a repeating pattern, such as aFibonacci or other sequence.

A lens button 650 may be coupled with or otherwise mounted to coverplate 649. Lens button 650 may represent an embodiment of lens button600 of FIGS. 6A and 6B. Lens button 650 may allow one or more sensors toview through the lens button 650 for various purposes. For example, inone embodiment a PIR sensor (not shown) may be positioned behind thelens button 650 and configured to view through the lens button 650 todetect the presence of an occupant or occupants within the home orstructure. In some embodiments, lens button 650 may also function as abutton that is pressable by a user to input various commands to hazarddetector 600E, such as to shut off an alarm that is triggered inresponse to a false or otherwise harmless condition. Positioned distallybehind lens button 650 may be a light ring 651 that receives light.Light ring 651 may represent an embodiment of light ring 620 of FIGS. 6Cand 6D. Light ring 651 may receive light from at least one lightingelement, such as from an LED or another light emitting element, anddisperse the light within light ring 651 to provide a desired visualappearance, such as a halo around lens button 650. Positioned distallybehind light ring 651 may be a flexible circuit board 652 that includesone or more electrical components, such as a PIR sensor, LEDs, and thelike. As such, the PIR sensor and/or lighting elements may be locatedwithin hazard detector 600E behind lens button 650. Flexible circuitboard 652 may be electrically coupled with circuit board 644 tocommunicate and/or receive instructions from one or more microprocessorsmounted on a circuit board (not shown) during operation of hazarddetector 600E.

FIG. 6F illustrates hazard detector 600E of FIG. 6E with its variouscomponents assembled. Specifically, FIG. 6F shows the mounting plate641, front casing 643, back plate 642, and cover plate 649 in anassembled configuration with the various other components containedwithin an interior space of hazard detector 600E. This figure also showsthe plurality of holes or openings of cover plate 649 forming a visuallypleasing design that is viewable by an occupant of a room within whichthe hazard detector 600E is mounted. The lens button 650 is shownattached to the hazard detector 600E so as to be centrally positionedwith respect to cover plate 649.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of lighting elements 700 arrangedapproximately in a circle. Such a pattern of lighting elements (e.g.,LED lights) may be coupled on a circumferentially arranged ring portionof a hazard detector. For instance, lighting elements 700 may be placedproximate to light ring 340 or light ring 651 such that light fromlighting elements 700 is diffused in a circular pattern. Five lightingelements may be present: lighting elements 702, 704, 706, 708 and 710.Lighting elements 700 may be turned on and off according to a number ofpatterns (e.g., via adjustment of brightness of each lighting element)and/or each may cycle through different hue ranges (thereby changing incolor). The color of each of the lighting elements may vary in order toprovide an additional variety of visual effects. While five lightingelements are illustrated, it should be understood that a fewer or agreater number of lighting elements may be incorporated as part of alight of a hazard detector or some other form of device.

FIGS. 8A-8D illustrate an embodiment of four visual effects (alsoreferred to as animations) that may be generated using a light of ahazard detector, such as the lights and hazard detectors detailedherein. FIG. 8A illustrates a representation of a pulsing effect thatmay be created when all of lighting elements 702, 704, 706, 708 and 710(shown in FIG. 7) are turned on and off simultaneously. Alternatively,all of lighting elements 702, 704, 706, 708 and 710 may increase anddecrease the brightness of the light they each produce in a synchronizedfashion to create a pulsing effect. For example, for a first second (orother period of time), the brightness of each of the lighting elementsmay be gradually increased; for a second (or other period of time), thebrightness of each of the lighting elements may be maintained constant;and, for a third second (or other period of time), the brightness ofeach of the lighting elements may be gradually decreased, such as to afully off state. Table 1 represents characteristics of an exemplaryembodiment of a pulsing effect.

TABLE 1 Normal/Default Slow Fast Alarm LE sequence N/A N/A N/A N/A StartSimultaneous Simultaneous Simultaneous Simultaneous LE ramp on 500 ms 1s 250 ms 100 ms LE hold on 500 ms 1 s 250 ms 200 ms LE ramp off 500 ms 1s 250 ms 100 ms LE hold off 1.5 s 3 s 750 ms 100 ms LE fire offset N/AN/A N/A N/A Cycle length 3 s 6 s 1.5 s 0.5 s Easing Polyline EasingPolyline Easing Polyline Easing Polyline Easing Curve Curve Curve CurveEnd Stop after x cycles Stop after x cycles Stop after x cycles Stopafter x cycles

This pattern may repeat for a defined number of cycles. While such aneffect may be created by lighting elements 702, 704, 706, 708 and 710 ofFIG. 7, it should be understood that a similar effect may be createdusing a greater or fewer number of lighting elements.

FIG. 8B illustrates a representation of a rotating effect (also referredto as a circulation effect or halo sweep effect) that may be createdwhen all of lighting elements 702, 704, 706, 708 and 710 are turned onand off sequentially in a clockwise direction to create a rotatingeffect. Furthermore, turning on and off the lights may be done in agradual fashion. For example, lighting element 704 may gradually turnoff and lighting element 702 gradually turns on while lighting elements706, 708 and 710 are turned on at an equal brightness. FIG. 10 providesa further illustration of the rotating visual effect of FIG. 8B (andFIGS. 5A and 5B), according to various embodiments. Viewed from left toright, FIG. 10 illustrates an effect caused by light elements turning onat one end of the rotating visual effect and other lights graduallyturning off at the other end of the rotation visual effect. The hatchpatterns of each of the sequential representations illustrate how therotating light may change color during the rotation sequence. Althoughlighting elements 702, 704, 706, 708 and 710 may each be a differentcolor individually, the colored light mixing causes the color of therotating visual effect to constantly change through the course of thevisual effect. Table 2 represents characteristics of an exemplaryembodiment of a rotating effect.

TABLE 2 Normal/Default Slow LE sequence Clockwise Start LE 702 LE rampon 400 ms 800 ms LE hold on 0 ms 0 ms LE ramp off 400 ms 800 ms LE holdoff 200 ms 400 ms LE fire offset 200 ms 400 ms Cycle length 1.2 s 2.4 sEasing Polyline Easing Curve Polyline Easing Curve End Fade out Fade out

Such an animation may be repeated a number of times or while a state ofthe hazard detector is active. While such an effect may be created bylighting elements 702, 704, 706, 708 and 710 of FIG. 7, it should beunderstood that a similar effect may be created using a greater or fewernumber of lighting elements, such as by the large number of lightingelements present in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

FIG. 8C illustrates a representation of a wave visual effect that may becreated when lighting elements 700 (shown in FIG. 7) turn on and off ina side-to-side direction. For example, at a given point in time as shownin FIG. 8C, lighting element 710 may be most bright, lighting elements708 and 702 may be the next brightest, and lighting elements 706 and 704may be the least bright. Shortly thereafter, the lights may graduallychange brightness in a linear manner such that lighting elements 704 and706 are the brightest, lighting elements 708 and 702 are the nextbrightest, and lighting element 710 is the least bright. Table 3represents characteristics of an exemplary embodiment of a wave effect.

TABLE 3 Normal/Default LE sequence 708, 710/706, 702/704 Start 708 LEramp on 500 ms LE hold on 0 ms LE ramp off 500 ms LE hold off N/A LEfire offset 300 ms Cycle length 1.6 s Easing Polyline Easing Curve EndOne cycle

The pattern may then be reversed and/or repeated. While such an effectmay be created by lighting elements 702, 704, 706, 708 and 710 of FIG.7, it should be understood that a similar effect may be created using agreater or fewer number of lighting elements. While only a“normal/default” speed is listed, by adjusting the times listed,different speed variations of the animation may be created.

FIG. 8D illustrates a representation of a shimmer visual effect that maybe created when each of the lighting elements 700 cycle through a huerange pattern with each lighting element's hue range pattern being outof sync with one or more (e.g., all) other lighting elements. FIG. 11illustrates the different hue range patterns associated with each of thelighting elements 700 for the shimmering visual effect, according to anembodiment. While FIG. 11 shows each lighting element being out ofsynchronization from each other lighting element, in some embodiments,two or more of the lighting elements may be in synchronization with eachother. The extent to which the lighting elements 702, 704, 706, 708 and710 are out of sync may be varied in order to produce variations of theshimmer visual effect. Table 4 represents characteristics of anexemplary embodiment of a shimmer effect.

TABLE 4 Normal/Default LE sequence See FIG. 11 for hue curves StartSimultaneously LE ramp on 1 s LE hold on N/A LE ramp off 1 s LE hold offN/A LE fire offset See FIG. 11 Cycle length Indefinite Easing PolylineEasing Curve End Ramp off when ready to end

While such an effect may be created by lighting elements 702, 704, 706,708 and 710 of FIG. 7, it should be understood that a similar effect maybe created using a greater or fewer number of lighting elements. Whileonly a “normal/default” speed is listed, by adjusting the times listed,different speed variations of the animation may be created.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate an embodiment of a pulse visual effect thatmay be generated using a light of a hazard detector. FIG. 9A representsan on and off pattern wherein pulse animations will transition smoothlyfrom off to on, then on to off, through pulses in order to provide analert in a non-distracting manner. FIG. 9B represents left-to-rightpulse patterns that could be used when presenting a user with selectableoptions via visual effects. For example, a user input component or, morespecifically, a lens button, may be used to select a language (or otherform of) preference for the operation of a hazard detector during asetup procedure. A user could be asked to press such a lens button whenthe left side is pulsing for English (or, more generally, a firstoption) and when the right side is pulsing for Chinese (or, moregenerally, a second option). Therefore, a user may wait until the sideof light is pulsing or otherwise illuminated that is associated with theuser's desired selection. Similarly, different colors may be associatedwith different options available for selection: a user may wait until acolor is output that corresponds to the user's desired selection. Insome embodiments, rather than pressing a button, the user may perform agesture, such as one or multiple waves of a hand.

In various embodiments, the visual effects described above could bevaried in a number of different ways. For example, each effect may beanimated faster or slower, brighter or dimmer, for a specific number ofanimation cycles, with only some of the light participating, and usingdifferent colors, e.g., white, blue, green, yellow and red. and/or amixture of multiple colors.

These visual effects may be generated by the hazard detectors detailedherein for a variety of specified purposes. For example, a specificcolor, animation, animation speed, etc. or combinations thereof mayrepresent one or more of the following alerts or notifications provideda hazard detector: booting up, selecting language, ready forconnections, connected to client, button pressed, button pressed fortest, countdown to test, test under way, test completed, pre-alarms,smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, heat alarms, multi-criteriaalarms, hushed after alarm, post-alarm, problems, night light state,reset, shutdown begin, shutdown, safely light, battery very low, batterycritical, power confirmation, and more. By way of example and not by wayof limitation, FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate an exemplary “visualvocabulary” for visual effects and colors that may be used byembodiments of hazard detectors.

FIG. 11 illustrates various hue range patterns associated with each ofthe lighting elements 700 for the shimmering visual effect, according toan embodiment. The extent to which lighting elements (abbreviated LE inFIG. 11) 702, 704, 706, 708 and 710 are out of sync may be varied inorder to produce variations of the shimmer visual effect. Asillustrated, each lighting element is increased and decreased inbrightness between two hues as time progresses. Some or all of thelighting elements are “out of sync” in that the lighting elements, whileilluminating according to the same pattern, do so at different times.While two hues may be used, it should be understood that a single huemay be possible (e.g., fading between a first hue and off) or more thantwo hues (e.g., per lighting element or using different color pairs fordifferent lighting elements of the light). While such an effect may becreated by lighting elements 702, 704, 706, 708 and 710 of FIG. 7, itshould be understood that a similar effect may be created using agreater or fewer number of lighting elements. Also, the waveforms couldbe altered to produce a different visual effect.

In FIG. 11, sine waves are used to define the adjustment between hueintensity levels of individual lighting elements for a shimmer visualeffect. In some embodiments, multiple linear transitions stored by ahazard detector and may be used to approximate such curves. Such animplementation may be referred to as polyline easing and may requireless processing for the hazard detector to implement. As an example, aportion of polyline easing, the hue transition for LE 702 has beenrepresented using multiple linear segments defined by transition points(e.g., transition point 1102 and transition point 1103, which each havean associated set of coordinates). Line segments 1101 represent suchpolyline easing, which is defined based on reference points includingreference points 1102 and 1103. Such transitions may be defined for alllighting elements and/or all lighting effects detailed herein.

FIG. 12A illustrates an embodiment 1200A of definitions for visualeffects that may be used by a hazard detector, such as the hazarddetectors detailed herein. Color definitions 1210, animation definitions1220, and speed definitions 1230 may be stored locally by a hazarddetector (e.g., stored as part of stored illumination definitions 243)or may be accessible by the hazard detector from some remote location,such as from cloud-based server (e.g., a cloud-computing system). Suchdefinitions of colors, animations, and/or speeds may be provided to auser, such as in the form of a quick reference sheet or manual providedwith a hazard detector when purchased. As such, a user can learn orlook-up the meaning of a particular visual effect. Each color,animation, and speed may have an individualized meaning. For instance,the speed of an animation may be used to indicate a level of urgency.Animation may be used to provide an acknowledgment (“OK”), an indicationthat attention is needed, and/or some other status. Such an animationused in conjunction with a speed may alert the user as to how urgent thestatus associated with the animation is. Further, various colors may beincorporated to provide more information to a user, such as green for“OK”, yellow for “something may be wrong” or a warning, and red for“something is definitely wrong.” Other colors may be used for otherforms of messages. Further, a separate color, such as white, may be usedby the light for ambient lighting provided by the hazard detector incertain situations as previously detailed. As an example, if a batteryis low but does not yet need to be replaced, the color may be yellow(“something may be wrong”), the animation may be “here's my status”, andthe speed may be slow. If the battery is not replaced, the speed maytransition to fast after a time. Once the battery must be replaced, thecolor may be red (“something is definitely wrong”), the animation may bea circulation (“I need your attention”) and the speed may be fast (oralarm). As such, a battery may be checked against multiple voltagethresholds—the lower the voltage, the more urgent the presented status.

In some embodiments, color definitions 1210, animation definitions 1220,and speed definitions 1230 may be used independently to select a color,animation, and speed by the hazard detector based on a status check ofthe hazard detector. A look-up may be performed using color definitions1210, animation definitions 1220, and speed definitions 1230 to select acolor, animation, and speed that correspond to the status determined bythe hazard detector. The color, animation, and/or speed selected fromcolor definitions 1210, animation definitions 1220, and/or speeddefinitions 1230 may then be used by the hazard detector to output astatus via a light of the hazard detector.

FIG. 12B illustrates an embodiment 1200B of various combinations ofvisual effects (also referred to as animations) and color that may beused by a hazard detector, such as the hazard detectors detailed herein.Such combinations may be stored in the form of a look-up table by ahazard detector or may be accessible via a network from a remotecomputerized device, such as a cloud-based server system (e.g.,cloud-computing system 1564). Once a status is determined by the hazarddetector, a table such as presented in embodiment 1200B may be used todetermine an animation, color, speed, and/or duration to use foroutputting an indication of the status. Color 1251 may be red, color1252 may be yellow, color 1253 may be green, color 1254 may be blue, andcolor 1255 may be white. Other color assignments are also possible.Definitions of colors, visual effects, and/or speeds may be stored by ahazard detector, such as in stored illumination definitions 243, whichmay be present on a non-transitory processor-readable medium. Inresponse to a condition determined by the hazard detector (e.g., bystate determination engine 241), the processing system of the hazarddetector may look up or otherwise determine (e.g., using definitionlookup and output engine 242) the appropriate combination of colors,visual effect, and/or speed to use to illuminate the light. The lightmay then be illuminated according to the determined combination toconvey information to one or more users. Again here, definitions ofcolors and animations may be provided to a user, such as in the form ofa quick reference sheet or manual provided with a hazard detector whenpurchased.

FIGS. 13A-13D represent various lighting effects of how a hazarddetector may be illuminated to communicate information to a user.Category 1301 may represent the category of a type of function. Name1302 may represent the name of the function being performed by thehazard detector. Type 1303 may indicate whether the correspondingfunction is a state or event. An event may be a discrete event, such asa button push, while a state may be an on-going condition, such as analarm being active. LED behavior 1304 may represent the variousbehaviors of LEDs of the hazard detector's light, such as an animation,color, timing (e.g., once, three times, for x amount of time, until anevent occurs, while a state is present), and a speed variation (e.g.,normal, fast, slow, alarm speed, etc.). Tone 1305 may represent a soundthat is output by the hazard detector to accompany the lighting effect.Voice 1306 may represent a recorded or synthesized spoken message toaccompany the lighting effect. Such lighting effects may be stored inthe form of a look-up table by a hazard detector or may be accessiblevia a network from a remote computerized device, such as a cloud-basedserver system (e.g., cloud-computing system 1564). Once a status isdetermined by the hazard detector, a table such as presented inembodiments 1300A through 1300D may be used to determine an animation,color, speed, and/or duration to use for outputting an indication of thestatus.

The embodiments of hazard detectors detailed herein may be used toperform various methods. FIG. 14A illustrates an embodiment of a method1400A for presenting information via a ring-shaped light of a hazarddetector. Method 1400A may be performed using the hazard detectors,related components, and animation patterns detailed in relation to FIGS.1-13.

At block 1410, a state of the hazard detector may be determined. Thestate may be determined by the hazard detector performing a status checkof itself or an alarm being triggered. The state may be determined basedon the status of one or more hazard sensors, such as a smoke sensorand/or a carbon monoxide sensor, present on the hazard detector. Thestate of the hazard detector may also be based on a charge level of anonboard battery. State of the hazard detector may also be based upon astatus of a user account that is tied to the hazard detector and ismaintained by a remote server system. Such states may also be understoodto include events. For example, an event may be a button press or anetwork being detected. Therefore, a state of the hazard detector beingdetermined may include an event occurring at the hazard detector beingdetermined. Block 1410 may be performed by an onboard processing systemof hazard detector. For example, referring to hazard detector 200, statedetermination engine 241 of processing system 110 may determine a stateof the hazard detector.

At block 1420, a stored database, table, or other storage arrangement ofillumination definitions corresponding to various states of the hazarddetector may be accessed. The stored illumination definitions may bestored locally by the hazard detector and/or may be accessible via anetwork connection from a remote computer system, such as the computersystem that maintains the user account that may be associated with thehazard detector. The stored database may include information such asthat presented in FIGS. 12 and 13. As such, these stored database ofdefinitions may include indications of color, animation, and/or speedthat are associated with states of the hazard detector. Referring tohazard detector 200, definition lookup and output engine 242 ofprocessing system 110 may be configured to access the storedillumination definitions 243. While hazard detector 200 illustratesstored illumination definitions 243 are stored locally using anon-transitory processor-readable medium at the hazard detector, itshould be understood that stored illumination definitions 243 may bestored remotely from the hazard detector may be accessible via wirelesscommunication module 230. It should be understood that the processingsystem of the hazard detector may be configured to periodically updateits stored illumination definitions with a remote server when an updateis available to such definitions from a remote server. For instance,when the hazard detector checks on a condition of the user accountassociated with the hazard detector, the hazard detector may be notifiedthat its stored illumination definitions are to be updated.

At block 1430, the appropriate color (or the appropriate multiplecolors), animation pattern, and/or speed may be determined by the hazarddetector by accessing the stored illumination definitions. The color,animation pattern, and/or speed may be associated with the state of thehazard detector determined at block 1410. Therefore, based on thedetermined state of the hazard detector, the hazard detector candetermine an appropriate one or more colors, one or more animations,and/or speed for the animation for use in illuminating a light toprovide a user with information about the state. Referring to hazarddetector 200, block 1430 may involve the one or more colors, animations,and/or speeds being retrieved by definition lookup and output engine 242from stored illumination definitions 243.

At block 1440, the light of the hazard detector may be illuminated basedon the identified one or more colors, animation pattern, and/or speed.Illumination of the light may include one or more lighting elements ofthe light being simultaneously or intermittently illuminated, such as tocause output of any of the various animation patterns previouslydetailed. Further, the color output by the light of the hazard detectormay be constant or may vary. Further, the speed of an animation, such asthe speed of the circulating effect, may be varied to provide a userwith different information. Depending on the state determined at block1410, the amount of time for which the light is illuminated may vary.For example, if the state of the hazard detector is indicative of afire, the light may be illuminated until smoke from the fires no longerdetected. As another example, if the state of the hazard detector isindicative of a low battery, the light of the hazard detector mayilluminate for three seconds.

FIG. 14B illustrates another embodiment of a method 1400B for presentinginformation via a ring-shaped light of a hazard detector. Method 1400Bmay represent an alternate embodiment of method 1400A. Blocks 1410through 1440 may be performed similarly to as described in relation toFIG. 14A. At step 1450, a user's presence in the ambient environment ofthe hazard detector may be detected. For instance, a PIR sensor and/orultrasonic sensor of the hazard detector may sense a user's presence,such as based on received infrared radiation and/or detected motion,respectively.

In response to a user's presence being detected, the color, animation,and/or speed at which the light of the hazard detector is beingilluminated may be changed by the hazard detector at block 1460. Thismodification of the color, animation, and/or speed used to illuminatethe light may alert the user as to whether his presence is detected bythe hazard detector. By the user knowing that his presence has beendetected, the user may expect that any provided input, such as a gestureor voice command, will be received by the hazard detector. In someembodiments, the modification to the color, animation, and/or speed usedto illuminate the light includes ceasing any animation and illuminatingthe light in a solid pattern. For instance, a circulation effect may bestopped and the light may be illuminated at a constant brightness inresponse to the presence of a user being detected. If the user movesaway and is no longer detected, the animation may resume. In otherembodiments, color and/or speed may be modified in response to a userpresence being detected.

FIG. 14C illustrates an embodiment of a method 1400C for modifying theinformation presented via a ring-shaped light of a hazard detector basedon a user's voice. Method 1400C may represent an alternate embodiment ofmethod 1400A and/or method 1400B. Blocks 1410 through 1430 may also beperformed, as described in relation to FIG. 14A, as part of method1400C. Block 1440 may be performed as previously detailed in relation tomethod 1400A.

At block 1470, a user's voice may be detected, such as via a microphoneof the hazard detector. For example, the user may say: “Silence thealarm!” At block 1470, a microphone may receive audio spoken by a user.Data corresponding to such audio may be transmitted by the microphone tothe processing system of the hazard detector for analysis. Additionallyor alternatively, a gesture being performed by the user may be detectedby the hazard detector, such as via a PIR sensor or an ultrasonicsensor. For example, the user may perform a gesture that includesmultiple waves.

At block 1480, in response to detecting the user's voice (and/or thegesture), the brightness, color, animation, and/or speed of theillumination of the light may be modified. For instance, the brightnessof the light may be modulated according to the detected volume orinflection of the user's detected voice. Such modulation of thebrightness may alert the user that the hazard detector is receiving andprocessing the user's voice. The captured audio from the user may beanalyzed to detect a command to be executed by the hazard detector. Insome embodiments, the animation of the hazard detector is ceased inresponse to the user's voice being detected. For instance, a circulationanimation may stop and the light may illuminate a constant brightnesswhile the user is speaking. In some embodiments, method 1400B may beperformed in conjunction with method 1400C: The color, animation, and/orspeed of the light may be modified in response to the user's presencebeing detected then, in response to the user's voice being detected, theoutput light may be modulated based on the volume and/or inflection ofthe user's voice. If a gesture is detected at block 1470, theillumination of the light may be varied in response to the user'sgesture to provide the user with an indication that the gesture has beendetected. For instance, if a user performs a wave gesture, the waveanimation of FIG. 8C may be performed to echo back to the user that thewave gesture has been received. The mimicked animation based on thegesture may match the directionality and/or speed of the user's gesture.For instance, a wave left followed by a wave right by a user may resultin the hazard detector outputting the wave animation to the left then tothe right.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of a method 1500 using a ring-shapedlight to emit light from a hazard detector. While method 1500 focuses onthe use of a ring-shaped light, it should be understood that method 1500can be applied to a light that is in the form of some other shape.Method 1500 may be performed in conjunction with one or more othermethods, such as method 1400 of FIG. 14. Further, method 1500 may beperformed by the hazard detectors detailed in this document.

At block 1510, the light of a hazard detector may generate light.Generation of light may occur via one or more lighting elements of thelight. For example, in some embodiments, a light can have multiple LEDsthat generate light at a same or different brightness level and/or asame or different color. At block 1520, light from the lighting elementsmay be directed from the interior of the hazard detector to the exteriorof the hazard detector. As such, the lighting elements may not bedirectly visible by user that is external to the hazard detector. Todirect light at block 1520, a light ring or other form of guide may beused to direct the light from the lighting elements to the exterior ofthe hazard detector. For example, referring to FIGS. 6C and 6D, lightring 620 may be used to direct light from multiple LEDs to an exteriorof the hazard detector. Such a light ring may be partially or fullyhidden within the hazard detector. For example, light ring 620 may belocated behind a user interface (e.g., button) such that light ring 620is not directly visible to a user (or is at least hard to see). Such alight ring or other form of guide may disperse light generated by thelighting elements. Such disbursement of the light may allow multiplepoint sources of light, such as LEDs, which are being used as thelighting elements to illuminate a shape continuously. Therefore, one ormore lighting elements may be used to produce a ring or other shape ofoutput light.

At block 1530, at least some light generated by the lighting elementsmay enter the external environment of the hazard detector by reflectingoff an external surface of the hazard detector. Such lighting may bereferred to as indirect lighting. For example, in exterior portion ofthe hazard detector that is configured to face in the direction of theuser may have a recessed portion that reflects light that is receivedeither from the lighting elements directly or as directed by the lightring or other form of guide. For example, referring to FIG. 6E, lightdirected by light ring 651 may be configured to reflect into theexterior environment of hazard detector 600E off a recessed portion ofcover plate 649 (which is part of a case of hazard detector 600E). Inother embodiments, light from the lighting elements may enter theexternal environment directly from the lighting elements or the lightring. That is, light reflecting, if any, off of the case of the hazarddetector may be incidental.

At block 1540, the light entering the environment of the hazard detectormay illuminate an edge of the user input component such that lightencircles or otherwise outlines the user input component. Therefore, byuser pressing or touching within the illuminated circle or other shape,the user can assume he is touching the user input component. Such anarrangement may be particularly useful in a darkened environment. Asensor, such as a PIR sensor, may be located within the hazard detectorbehind the user input component. By performing a gesture or otherwisebeing present proximate to the shape defined by the light, the user maydetermine that he is in the proper location to perform the gesture or besensed. It is to be appreciated that while the described methods andsystems for intuitive illumination-based status signaling for a hazarddetector are particularly advantageous in view of the particular devicecontext, in that issues may be brought about by the lack of a fullon-device graphical user interface (e.g., the lack of a dot-matrix LCDscreen with touchscreen capability or keypad/pointer capability) withthe use instead of non-graphical but simple, visually appealingon-device user interface elements (e.g., a simple pressable button withshaped on-device lighting), and in further view of power limitations forthe case of battery-only hazard detectors making it desirable for statuscommunications using minimal amounts of electrical power, the scope ofthe present disclosure is not so limited. Rather, the described methodsand systems for intuitive illumination-based status signaling are widelyapplicable to any of a variety of smart-home devices such as thosedescribed in relation to FIG. 16 infra and including, but not limitedto, thermostats, environmental sensors, motion sensors, occupancysensors, baby monitors, remote controllers, key fob remote controllers,smart-home hubs, security keypads, biometric access controllers, othersecurity devices, cameras, microphones, speakers, time-of-flight basedLED position/motion sensing arrays, doorbells, intercom devices, smartlight switches, smart door locks, door sensors, window sensors, genericprogrammable wireless control buttons, lighting equipment includingnight lights and mood lighting, smart appliances, entertainment devices,home service robots, garage door openers, door openers, window shadecontrollers, other mechanical actuation devices, solar power arrays,outdoor pathway lighting, irrigation equipment, lawn care equipment, orother smart home devices. Although widely applicable for any of suchsmart-home devices, one or more of the described methods and systemsbecome increasingly advantageous when applied in the context of devicesthat may have more limited on-device user interface capability (e.g.,without graphical user interfaces) and/or having power limitations thatmake it desirable for status communications using minimal amounts ofelectrical power. According to one embodiment, the user can be providedwith a suite of related smart-home devices, such as may be provided by acommon manufacturer or group or badged to work with a common “ecosystem”of that manufacturer or group, wherein each of the devices, wherepracticable, provides a same or similar illumination-based notificationscheme and theme, such that the user can be readily familiar with thestatus signals emitted by the variety of different devices withoutneeding to learn a different scheme for each device. Thus, by way ofexample, there can be provided a suite of devices including asecurity/automation hub, multiple door/window sensors, and multiplehazard detectors, wherein each such device has a circular illuminationring that conveys visual information according to the themes and schemesdescribed herein. Having read this disclosure, one having skill in theart could apply the methods and systems of the present invention in thecontext of one or more of the above-described smart home devices.

Hazard detectors, as detailed herein, may be installed in a smart-homeenvironment. FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a smart-home environment1600 within which one or more of the devices, methods, systems,services, and/or computer program products described further herein canbe applicable. The depicted smart-home environment 1600 includes astructure 1650, which can include, e.g., a house, office building,garage, or mobile home. It will be appreciated that devices can also beintegrated into a smart-home environment 1600 that does not include anentire structure 1650, such as an apartment, condominium, or officespace. Further, the smart home environment can control and/or be coupledto devices outside of the actual structure 1650. Indeed, several devicesin the smart home environment need not physically be within thestructure 1650 at all. For example, a device controlling a pool heateror irrigation system can be located outside of the structure 1650.

The depicted structure 1650 includes a plurality of rooms 1652,separated at least partly from each other via walls 1654. The walls 1654can include interior walls or exterior walls. Each room can furtherinclude a floor 1656 and a ceiling 1658. Devices can be mounted on,integrated with and/or supported by a wall 1654, floor 1656 or ceiling1658.

In some embodiments, the smart-home environment 1600 of FIG. 16 includesa plurality of devices, including intelligent, multi-sensing,network-connected devices, that can integrate seamlessly with each otherand/or with a central server or a cloud-computing system to provide anyof a variety of useful smart-home objectives. The smart-home environment1600 may include one or more intelligent, multi-sensing,network-connected thermostats 1602 (hereinafter referred to as smartthermostats 1602), one or more intelligent, network-connected, hazarddetectors 1604, and one or more intelligent, multi-sensing,network-connected entryway interface devices 1606 (hereinafter referredto as “smart doorbells 1606”). According to embodiments, the smartthermostat 1602 detects ambient climate characteristics (e.g.,temperature and/or humidity) and controls a HVAC system 1603accordingly. The hazard detector 1604 may detect the presence of ahazardous substance or a substance indicative of a hazardous substance(e.g., smoke, fire, or carbon monoxide). The smart doorbell 1606 maydetect a person's approach to or departure from a location (e.g., anouter door), control doorbell functionality, announce a person'sapproach or departure via audio or visual means, or control settings ona security system (e.g., to activate or deactivate the security systemwhen occupants go and come).

In some embodiments, the smart-home environment 1600 of FIG. 16 furtherincludes one or more intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected wallswitches 1608 (hereinafter referred to as “smart wall switches 1608”),along with one or more intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connectedwall plug interfaces 1610 (hereinafter referred to as “smart wall plugs1610”). The smart wall switches 1608 may detect ambient lightingconditions, detect room-occupancy states, and control a power and/or dimstate of one or more lights. In some instances, smart wall switches 1608may also control a power state or speed of a fan, such as a ceiling fan.The smart wall plugs 1610 may detect occupancy of a room or enclosureand control supply of power to one or more wall plugs (e.g., such thatpower is not supplied to the plug if nobody is at home).

Still further, in some embodiments, the smart-home environment 1600 ofFIG. 16 includes a plurality of intelligent, multi-sensing,network-connected appliances 1612 (hereinafter referred to as “smartappliances 1612”), such as refrigerators, stoves and/or ovens,televisions, washers, dryers, lights, stereos, intercom systems,garage-door openers, floor fans, ceiling fans, wall air conditioners,pool heaters, irrigation systems, security systems, and so forth.According to embodiments, the network-connected appliances 1612 are madecompatible with the smart-home environment by cooperating with therespective manufacturers of the appliances. For example, the appliancescan be space heaters, window AC units, motorized duct vents, etc. Whenplugged in, an appliance can announce itself to the smart-home network,such as by indicating what type of appliance it is, and it canautomatically integrate with the controls of the smart-home. Suchcommunication by the appliance to the smart home can be facilitated byany wired or wireless communication protocols known by those havingordinary skill in the art. The smart home also can include a variety ofnon-communicating legacy appliances 1640, such as old conventionalwasher/dryers, refrigerators, and the like which can be controlled,albeit coarsely (ON/OFF), by virtue of the smart wall plugs 1610. Thesmart-home environment 1600 can further include a variety of partiallycommunicating legacy appliances 1642, such as infrared (“IR”) controlledwall air conditioners or other IR-controlled devices, which can becontrolled by IR signals provided by the hazard detectors 1604 or thesmart wall switches 1608.

According to embodiments, the smart thermostats 1602, the hazarddetectors 1604, the smart doorbells 1606, the smart wall switches 1608,the smart wall plugs 1610, and other devices of the smart-homeenvironment 1600 are modular and can be incorporated into older and newhouses. For example, the devices are designed around a modular platformconsisting of two basic components: a head unit and a back plate, whichis also referred to as a docking station. Multiple configurations of thedocking station are provided so as to be compatible with any home, suchas older and newer homes. However, all of the docking stations include astandard head-connection arrangement, such that any head unit can beremovably attached to any docking station. Thus, in some embodiments,the docking stations are interfaces that serve as physical connectionsto the structure and the voltage wiring of the homes, and theinterchangeable head units contain all of the sensors, processors, userinterfaces, the batteries, and other functional components of thedevices.

The smart-home environment 1600 may also include communication withdevices outside of the physical home but within a proximate geographicalrange of the home. For example, the smart-home environment 1600 mayinclude a pool heater monitor 1614 that communicates a current pooltemperature to other devices within the smart-home environment 1600 orreceives commands for controlling the pool temperature. Similarly, thesmart-home environment 1600 may include an irrigation monitor 1616 thatcommunicates information regarding irrigation systems within thesmart-home environment 1600 and/or receives control information forcontrolling such irrigation systems. According to embodiments, analgorithm is provided for considering the geographic location of thesmart-home environment 1600, such as based on the zip code or geographiccoordinates of the home. The geographic information is then used toobtain data helpful for determining optimal times for watering; suchdata may include sun location information, temperature, due point, soiltype of the land on which the home is located, etc.

By virtue of network connectivity, one or more of the smart-home devicesof FIG. 16 can further allow a user to interact with the device even ifthe user is not proximate to the device. For example, a user cancommunicate with a device using a computer (e.g., a desktop computer,laptop computer, or tablet) or other portable electronic device (e.g., asmartphone) 1666. A webpage or app can be configured to receivecommunications from the user and control the device based on thecommunications and/or to present information about the device'soperation to the user. For example, the user can view a current setpointtemperature for a device and adjust it, using a computer. The user canbe in the structure during this remote communication or outside thestructure.

As discussed, users can control and interact with the smart thermostat,hazard detectors 1604, and other smart devices in the smart-homeenvironment 1600 using a network-connected computer or portableelectronic device 1666. In some examples, some or all of the occupants(e.g., individuals who live in the home) can register their device 1666with the smart-home environment 1600. Such registration can be made at acentral server to authenticate the occupant and/or the device as beingassociated with the home and to give permission to the occupant to usethe device to control the smart devices in the home. An occupant can usehis registered device 1666 to remotely control the smart devices of thehome, such as when the occupant is at work or on vacation. The occupantmay also use his registered device to control the smart devices when theoccupant is actually located inside the home, such as when the occupantis sitting on a couch inside the home. It should be appreciated that,instead of or in addition to registering devices 1666, the smart-homeenvironment 1600 makes inferences about which individuals live in thehome and are therefore occupants and which devices 1666 are associatedwith those individuals. As such, the smart-home environment “learns” whois an occupant and permits the devices 1666 associated with thoseindividuals to control the smart devices of the home.

In some embodiments, in addition to containing processing and sensingcapabilities, each of the devices 1602, 1604, 1606, 1608, 1610, 1612,1614, and 1616 (collectively referred to as “the smart devices”) iscapable of data communications and information sharing with any other ofthe smart devices, as well as to any central server or cloud-computingsystem or any other device that is network-connected anywhere in theworld. The required data communications can be carried out using one ormore of a variety of custom or standard wireless protocols (cellular,3G/4G, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, BLE, etc.) and/or any of a variety ofcustom or standard wired protocols (CAT6 Ethernet, HomePlug, etc.). Oneparticularly useful protocol that can be used is the Thread protocol,which is promulgated by the Thread Group and based on 802.15.4, IETFIPv6, and 6LoWPAN. For some embodiments, devices that are powered by thehousehold mains current, either directly or through an AC power adapter,can be provided with a combination of Wi-Fi, which can be relativelypower-intensive, along with one or more lower-power protocols such asThread and/or BLE. In contrast, devices that are power-constrained inthat they are not powered by the household mains current and do not haveaccess to a high-capacity battery source are provided only with one ormore low-power protocols such as Thread and/or BLE. In some cases,devices that are not powered by the household mains current, but do haveaccess to a reasonably high-capacity battery source, can be providedwith a combination of Wi-Fi and one or more lower-power protocols suchas Thread and/or BLE, with the Wi-Fi communications being controlled tobe temporally restricted, such as being turned on only during briefperiodic time intervals (e.g., once per day to upload logs and receiveupdates from the cloud), during particular device-sensed events, or whenthe user has physically actuated the device such as by pressing a buttonon the device. The hazard detectors described herein can be provided intwo different SKUs, one SKU being mains-powered with battery backup andthe other SKU being battery only, albeit with a relatively large batterysource (e.g., six lithium AA cells). For this battery-only SKU, thehazard detector is preferably provided with a combination of thetemporally restricted Wi-Fi and one or more lower-power protocols suchas Thread and/or BLE.

According to embodiments, all or some of the smart devices can serve aswireless or wired repeaters. For example, a first one of the smartdevices can communicate with a second one of the smart devices via awireless router 1660. The smart devices can further communicate witheach other via a connection to a network, such as the Internet 1699.Through the Internet 1699, the smart devices can communicate with acloud-computing system 1664, which can include one or more centralizedor distributed server systems. The cloud-computing system 1664 can beassociated with a manufacturer, support entity, or service providerassociated with the device. For one embodiment, a user may be able tocontact customer support using a device itself rather than needing touse other communication means such as a telephone or Internet-connectedcomputer. Further, software updates can be automatically sent fromcloud-computing system 1664 to devices (e.g., when available, whenpurchased, or at routine intervals).

According to embodiments, the smart devices combine to create a meshnetwork of spokesman and low-power nodes in the smart-home environment1600, where some of the smart devices are “spokesman” nodes and othersare “low-powered” nodes. Some of the smart devices in the smart-homeenvironment 1600 are battery powered, while others have a regular andreliable power source, such as by connecting to wiring (e.g., to 120Vline voltage wires) behind the walls 1654 of the smart-home environment.The smart devices that have a regular and reliable power source arereferred to as “spokesman” nodes. These nodes are equipped with thecapability of using any wireless protocol or manner to facilitatebidirectional communication with any of a variety of other devices inthe smart-home environment 1600 as well as with the cloud-computingsystem 1664. On the other hand, the devices that are battery powered arereferred to as “low-power” nodes. These nodes tend to be smaller thanspokesman nodes and can only communicate using wireless protocols thatrequire very little power, such as Zigbee, 6LoWPAN, etc. Further, some,but not all, low-power nodes are incapable of bidirectionalcommunication. These low-power nodes send messages, but they are unableto “listen”. Thus, other devices in the smart-home environment 1600,such as the spokesman nodes, cannot send information to these low-powernodes.

As described, the smart devices serve as low-power and spokesman nodesto create a mesh network in the smart-home environment 1600. Individuallow-power nodes in the smart-home environment regularly send outmessages regarding what they are sensing, and the other low-powerednodes in the smart-home environment—in addition to sending out their ownmessages—repeat the messages, thereby causing the messages to travelfrom node to node (i.e., device to device) throughout the smart-homeenvironment 1600. The spokesman nodes in the smart-home environment 1600are able to “drop down” to low-powered communication protocols toreceive these messages, translate the messages to other communicationprotocols, and send the translated messages to other spokesman nodesand/or cloud-computing system 1664. Thus, the low-powered nodes usinglow-power communication protocols are able to send messages across theentire smart-home environment 1600 as well as over the Internet 1699 tocloud-computing system 1664. According to embodiments, the mesh networkenables cloud-computing system 1664 to regularly receive data from allof the smart devices in the home, make inferences based on the data, andsend commands back to one of the smart devices to accomplish some of thesmart-home objectives described herein.

As described, the spokesman nodes and some of the low-powered nodes arecapable of “listening.” Accordingly, users, other devices, andcloud-computing system 1664 can communicate controls to the low-powerednodes. For example, a user can use the portable electronic device (e.g.,a smartphone) 1666 to send commands over the Internet 1699 tocloud-computing system 1664, which then relays the commands to thespokesman nodes in the smart-home environment 1600. The spokesman nodesdrop down to a low-power protocol to communicate the commands to thelow-power nodes throughout the smart-home environment, as well as toother spokesman nodes that did not receive the commands directly fromthe cloud-computing system 1664.

An example of a low-power node is a smart nightlight 1670. In additionto housing a light source, the smart nightlight 1670 houses an occupancysensor, such as an ultrasonic or passive IR sensor, and an ambient lightsensor, such as a photoresistor or a single-pixel sensor that measureslight in the room. In some embodiments, the smart nightlight 1670 isconfigured to activate the light source when its ambient light sensordetects that the room is dark and when its occupancy sensor detects thatsomeone is in the room. In other embodiments, the smart nightlight 1670is simply configured to activate the light source when its ambient lightsensor detects that the room is dark. Further, according to embodiments,the smart nightlight 1670 includes a low-power wireless communicationchip (e.g., ZigBee chip) that regularly sends out messages regarding theoccupancy of the room and the amount of light in the room, includinginstantaneous messages coincident with the occupancy sensor detectingthe presence of a person in the room. As mentioned above, these messagesmay be sent wirelessly, using the mesh network, from node to node (i.e.,smart device to smart device) within the smart-home environment 1600 aswell as over the Internet 1699 to cloud-computing system 1664.

Other examples of low-powered nodes include battery-operated versions ofthe hazard detectors 1604. These hazard detectors 1604 are often locatedin an area without access to constant and reliable (e.g., structural)power and, as discussed in detail below, may include any number and typeof sensors, such as smoke/fire/heat sensors, carbon monoxide/dioxidesensors, occupancy/motion sensors, ambient light sensors, temperaturesensors, humidity sensors, and the like. Furthermore, hazard detectors1604 can send messages that correspond to each of the respective sensorsto the other devices and cloud-computing system 1664, such as by usingthe mesh network as described above.

Examples of spokesman nodes include smart doorbells 1606, smartthermostats 1602, smart wall switches 1608, and smart wall plugs 1610.These devices 1602, 1606, 1608, and 1610 are often located near andconnected to a reliable power source, and therefore can include morepower-consuming components, such as one or more communication chipscapable of bidirectional communication in any variety of protocols.

In some embodiments, the mesh network of low-powered and spokesman nodescan be used to provide exit lighting in the event of an emergency. Insome instances, to facilitate this, users provide pre-configurationinformation that indicates exit routes in the smart-home environment1600. For example, for each room in the house, the user provides a mapof the best exit route. It should be appreciated that instead of a userproviding this information, cloud-computing system 1664 or some otherdevice could automatically determine the routes using uploaded maps,diagrams, architectural drawings of the smart-home house, as well asusing a map generated based on positional information obtained from thenodes of the mesh network (e.g., positional information from the devicesis used to construct a map of the house). In operation, when an alarm isactivated (e.g., when one or more of the hazard detector 1604 detectssmoke and activates an alarm), cloud-computing system 1664 or some otherdevice uses occupancy information obtained from the low-powered andspokesman nodes to determine which rooms are occupied and then turns onlights (e.g., smart nightlights 1670, wall switches 1608, smart wallplugs 1610 that power lamps, etc.) along the exit routes from theoccupied rooms so as to provide emergency exit lighting.

Further included and illustrated in the exemplary smart-home environment1600 of FIG. 16 are service robots 1662 each configured to carry out, inan autonomous manner, any of a variety of household tasks. For someembodiments, the service robots 1662 can be respectively configured toperform floor sweeping, floor washing, etc. in a manner similar to thatof known commercially available devices such as the Roomba™ and Scooba™products sold by iRobot, Inc. of Bedford, Mass. Tasks such as floorsweeping and floor washing can be considered as “away” or “while-away”tasks for purposes of the instant description, as it is generally moredesirable for these tasks to be performed when the occupants are notpresent. For other embodiments, one or more of the service robots 1662are configured to perform tasks such as playing music for an occupant,serving as a localized thermostat for an occupant, serving as alocalized air monitor/purifier for an occupant, serving as a localizedbaby monitor, serving as a localized hazard detector for an occupant,and so forth, it being generally more desirable for such tasks to becarried out in the immediate presence of the human occupant. Forpurposes of the instant description, such tasks can be considered as“human-facing” or “human-centric” tasks.

When serving as a localized air monitor/purifier for an occupant, aparticular service robot 1662 can be considered to be facilitating whatcan be called a “personal health-area network” for the occupant, withthe objective being to keep the air quality in the occupant's immediatespace at healthy levels. Alternatively or in conjunction therewith,other health-related functions can be provided, such as monitoring thetemperature or heart rate of the occupant (e.g., using finely remotesensors, near-field communication with on-person monitors, etc.). Whenserving as a localized hazard detector for an occupant, a particularservice robot 1662 can be considered to be facilitating what can becalled a “personal safety-area network” for the occupant, with theobjective being to ensure there is no excessive carbon monoxide, smoke,fire, etc., in the immediate space of the occupant. Methods analogous tothose described above for personal comfort-area networks in terms ofoccupant identifying and tracking are likewise applicable for personalhealth-area network and personal safety-area network embodiments.

According to some embodiments, the above-referenced facilitation ofpersonal comfort-area networks, personal health-area networks, personalsafety-area networks, and/or other such human-facing functionalities ofthe service robots 1662, are further enhanced by logical integrationwith other smart sensors in the home according to rules-basedinferencing techniques or artificial intelligence techniques forachieving better performance of those human-facing functionalitiesand/or for achieving those goals in energy-conserving or otherresource-conserving ways. Thus, for one embodiment relating to personalhealth-area networks, the air monitor/purifier service robot 1662 can beconfigured to detect whether a household pet is moving toward thecurrently settled location of the occupant (e.g., using on-board sensorsand/or by data communications with other smart-home sensors along withrules-based inferencing/artificial intelligence techniques), and if so,the air purifying rate is immediately increased in preparation for thearrival of more airborne pet dander. For another embodiment relating topersonal safety-area networks, the hazard detector service robot 1662can be advised by other smart-home sensors that the temperature andhumidity levels are rising in the kitchen, which is nearby theoccupant's current dining room location, and responsive to thisadvisory, the hazard detector service robot 1662 will temporarily raisea hazard detection threshold, such as a smoke detection threshold, underan inference that any small increases in ambient smoke levels will mostlikely be due to cooking activity and not due to a genuinely hazardouscondition.

FIG. 17 illustrates a network-level view of an extensible devices andservices platform 1700 with which a plurality of smart-homeenvironments, such as the smart-home environment 1600 of FIG. 16, can beintegrated. The extensible devices and services platform 1700 includescloud-computing system 1664. Each of the intelligent, network-connecteddevices 1602, 1604, 1606, 1608, 1610, 1612, 1614, and 1616 from FIG. 16may communicate with cloud-computing system 1664. For example, aconnection to the Internet 1699 can be established either directly (forexample, using 3G/4G connectivity to a wireless carrier), through ahubbed network 1712 (which can be a scheme ranging from a simplewireless router, for example, up to and including an intelligent,dedicated whole-home control node), or through any combination thereof.

Although in some examples provided herein, the devices and servicesplatform 1700 communicates with and collects data from the smart devicesof smart-home environment 1600 of FIG. 16, it should be appreciated thatthe devices and services platform 1700 communicates with and collectsdata from a plurality of smart-home environments across the world. Forexample, cloud-computing system 1664 can collect home data 1702 from thedevices of one or more smart-home environments, where the devices canroutinely transmit home data or can transmit home data in specificinstances (e.g., when a device queries the home data 1702). Thus, thedevices and services platform 1700 routinely collects data from homesacross the world. As described, the collected home data 1702 includes,for example, power consumption data, occupancy data, HVAC settings andusage data, carbon monoxide levels data, carbon dioxide levels data,volatile organic compounds levels data, sleeping schedule data, cookingschedule data, inside and outside temperature humidity data, televisionviewership data, inside and outside noise level data, etc.

Cloud-computing system 1664 can further provide one or more services1704. The services 1704 can include, e.g., software updates, customersupport, sensor data collection/logging, remote access, remote ordistributed control, or use suggestions (e.g., based on collected homedata 1702 to improve performance, reduce utility cost, etc.). Dataassociated with the services 1704 can be stored at cloud-computingsystem 1664 and cloud-computing system 1664 can retrieve and transmitthe data at an appropriate time (e.g., at regular intervals, uponreceiving a request from a user, etc.).

As part of services 1704, user accounts may be maintained by thecloud-computing system 1664. The user account may store subscriptioninformation, billing information, registration information, userpreferences, and/or other data associated with various smart-homedevices, such as one or more hazard detectors, installed within astructure that is linked with a user account. Occasionally, attention ofa user to his or her user account may be requested. In response to aquery from hazard detector 1750 (or other smart-home device), a messagemay be transmitted by the cloud-computing system 1664 to hazard detector1750 (which may represent any of the previously described hazarddetectors) indicating that a status output by hazard detector 1750should indicate that a user is requested to log in to his or her useraccount. Further detail regarding the requested log may be transmittedby service 1704 to hazard detector 1750. For instance, the reason forthe requested login may be expired payment information (such as anexpired credit card). The user can request detail on a status output byhazard detector 1750, which may be presented to the user as a color andanimation output via a light of hazard detector 1750. The request fordetail may be by performing a gesture within the vicinity of hazarddetector 1750. A spoken message may then be output by hazard detector1750 indicating that the user is requested to log in to his account andmay also indicate the reason of the payment information needing to beupdated. As such, a status check performed by hazard detector 1750 maynot only check the status of hazard detector 1750 itself, but also thestate of a remotely-maintained user account.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, an embodiment of the extensible devices andservices platform 1700 includes a processing engine 1706, which can beconcentrated at a single server or distributed among several differentcomputing entities without limitation. The processing engine 1706 caninclude computerized engines (e.g., software executed by hardware)configured to receive data from devices of smart-home environments(e.g., via the Internet or a hubbed network), to index the data, toanalyze the data and/or to generate statistics based on the analysis oras part of the analysis. The analyzed data can be stored as derived homedata 1708.

Results of the analysis or statistics can thereafter be transmitted backto the device that provided home data used to derive the results, toother devices, to a server providing a webpage to a user of the device,or to other non-device entities. For example, use statistics, usestatistics relative to use of other devices, use patterns, and/orstatistics summarizing sensor readings can be generated by theprocessing engine 1706 and transmitted. The results or statistics can beprovided via the Internet 1699. In this manner, the processing engine1706 can be configured and programmed to derive a variety of usefulinformation from the home data 1702. A single server can include one ormore engines.

In some embodiments, to encourage innovation and research and toincrease products and services available to users, the devices andservices platform 1700 exposes a range of application programminginterfaces (APIs) 1710 to third parties, such as charities, governmentalentities (e.g., the Food and Drug Administration or the EnvironmentalProtection Agency), academic institutions (e.g., universityresearchers), businesses (e.g., providing device warranties or serviceto related equipment, targeting advertisements based on home data),utility companies, and other third parties. The APIs 1710 may be coupledto and permit third-party systems to communicate with cloud-computingsystem 1664, including the services 1704, the processing engine 1706,the home data 1702, and the derived home data 1708. For example, theAPIs 1710 allow applications executed by the third parties to initiatespecific data processing tasks that are executed by cloud-computingsystem 1664, as well as to receive dynamic updates to the home data 1702and the derived home data 1708.

Account alert engine may serve to determine whether a hazard detectorshould provide an indication that the user's account requires attention.For instance, account alert engine 1705 may periodically assess thestate of a user's account, such as whether settings need updating,whether payment information is up-to-date, whether one or more messagesare pending, whether payment is due, etc. If user attention is required,upon a request being received from a hazard detector and a look-up ofthe user's account being performed, account alert engine may respondwith an indication that the user account requires attention. Additionaldetail may also be provided such that if the user performs a gesture orotherwise requests additional detail, such detail can be provided, suchas via an auditory message. If user attention is not required, upon arequest being received from a hazard detector and a look-up of theuser's account being performed (e.g., by determining an accountassociated with the hazard detector from which the request wasreceived), account alert engine may respond with an indication that theuser account does not require attention.

FIG. 1800 illustrates an abstracted functional view of the extensibledevices and services platform 1700 of FIG. 17, with particular referenceto the processing engine 1706 as well as devices, such as those of thesmart-home environment 1600 of FIG. 16. Even though devices situated insmart-home environments will have an endless variety of differentindividual capabilities and limitations, they can all be thought of assharing common characteristics in that each of them is a data consumer1865 (DC), a data source 1866 (DS), a services consumer 1867 (SC), and aservices source 1868 (SS). Advantageously, in addition to providing theessential control information needed for the devices to achieve theirlocal and immediate objectives, the extensible devices and servicesplatform 1700 can also be configured to harness the large amount of datathat is flowing out of these devices. In addition to enhancing oroptimizing the actual operation of the devices themselves with respectto their immediate functions, the extensible devices and servicesplatform 1700 can be directed to “repurposing” that data in a variety ofautomated, extensible, flexible, and/or scalable ways to achieve avariety of useful objectives. These objectives may be predefined oradaptively identified based on, e.g., usage patterns, device efficiency,and/or user input (e.g., requesting specific functionality).

For example, FIG. 18 shows processing engine 1706 as including a numberof paradigms 1871. Processing engine 1706 can include a managed servicesparadigm 1871 a that monitors and manages primary or secondary devicefunctions. The device functions can include ensuring proper operation ofa device given user inputs, estimating that (e.g., and responding to aninstance in which) an intruder is or is attempting to be in a dwelling,detecting a failure of equipment coupled to the device (e.g., a lightbulb having burned out), implementing or otherwise responding to energydemand response events, or alerting a user of a current or predictedfuture event or characteristic. Processing engine 1706 can furtherinclude an advertising/communication paradigm 1871 b that estimatescharacteristics (e.g., demographic information), desires and/or productsof interest of a user based on device usage. Services, promotions,products or upgrades can then be offered or automatically provided tothe user. Processing engine 1706 can further include a social paradigm1871 c that uses information from a social network, provides informationto a social network (for example, based on device usage), and/orprocesses data associated with user and/or device interactions with thesocial network platform. For example, a user's status as reported to histrusted contacts on the social network could be updated to indicate whenhe is home based on light detection, security system inactivation ordevice usage detectors. As another example, a user may be able to sharedevice-usage statistics with other users. In yet another example, a usermay share HVAC settings that result in low power bills and other usersmay download the HVAC settings to their smart thermostat 1602 to reducetheir power bills.

The processing engine 1706 can include achallenges/rules/compliance/rewards paradigm 1871 d that informs a userof challenges, competitions, rules, compliance regulations and/orrewards and/or that uses operation data to determine whether a challengehas been met, a rule or regulation has been complied with and/or areward has been earned. The challenges, rules or regulations can relateto efforts to conserve energy, to live safely (e.g., reducing exposureto toxins or carcinogens), to conserve money and/or equipment life, toimprove health, etc. For example, one challenge may involve participantsturning down their thermostat by one degree for one week. Those thatsuccessfully complete the challenge are rewarded, such as by coupons,virtual currency, status, etc. Regarding compliance, an example involvesa rental-property owner making a rule that no renters are permitted toaccess certain owner's rooms. The devices in the room having occupancysensors could send updates to the owner when the room is accessed.

The processing engine 1706 can integrate or otherwise utilize extrinsicinformation 1873 from extrinsic sources to improve the functioning ofone or more processing paradigms. Extrinsic information 1873 can be usedto interpret data received from a device, to determine a characteristicof the environment near the device (e.g., outside a structure that thedevice is enclosed in), to determine services or products available tothe user, to identify a social network or social-network information, todetermine contact information of entities (e.g., public-service entitiessuch as an emergency-response team, the police or a hospital) near thedevice, etc., to identify statistical or environmental conditions,trends or other information associated with a home or neighborhood, andso forth.

An extraordinary range and variety of benefits can be brought about by,and fit within the scope of, the described extensible devices andservices platform 1700A, ranging from the ordinary to the profound.Thus, in one “ordinary” example, each bedroom of the smart-homeenvironment 1600 can be provided with a smart wall switch 1608, a smartwall plug 1610, and/or smart hazard detectors 1604, all or some of whichinclude an occupancy sensor, wherein the occupancy sensor is alsocapable of inferring (e.g., by virtue of motion detection, facialrecognition, audible sound patterns, etc.) whether the occupant isasleep or awake. If a serious fire event is sensed, the remotesecurity/monitoring service or fire department is advised of how manyoccupants there are in each bedroom, and whether those occupants arestill asleep (or immobile) or whether they have properly evacuated thebedroom. While this is, of course, a very advantageous capabilityaccommodated by the described extensible devices and services platform,there can be substantially more “profound” examples that can trulyillustrate the potential of a larger “intelligence” that can be madeavailable. By way of perhaps a more “profound” example, the same bedroomoccupancy data that is being used for fire safety can also be“repurposed” by the processing engine 1706 in the context of a socialparadigm of neighborhood child development and education. Thus, forexample, the same bedroom occupancy and motion data discussed in the“ordinary” example can be collected and made available (properlyanonymized) for processing in which the sleep patterns of schoolchildrenin a particular ZIP code can be identified and tracked. Localizedvariations in the sleeping patterns of the schoolchildren may beidentified and correlated, for example, to different nutrition programsin local schools.

With reference to FIG. 19, an embodiment of a special-purpose computersystem 1900 is shown. For example, one or more intelligent components,processing system 110 and components thereof may be a special-purposecomputer system 1900. Such a special-purpose computer system 1900 may beincorporated as part of a hazard detector and/or any of the othercomputerized devices discussed herein, such as a remote server, smartthermostat, or network. The above methods may be implemented bycomputer-program products that direct a computer system to perform theactions of the above-described methods and components. Each suchcomputer-program product may comprise sets of instructions (codes)embodied on a computer-readable medium that direct the processor of acomputer system to perform corresponding actions. The instructions maybe configured to run in sequential order, or in parallel (such as underdifferent processing threads), or in a combination thereof. Afterloading the computer-program products on a general purpose computersystem 1926, it is transformed into the special-purpose computer system1900.

Special-purpose computer system 1900 comprises a computer 1902, amonitor 1906 coupled to computer 1902, one or more additional useroutput devices 1930 (optional) coupled to computer 1902, one or moreuser input devices 1940 (e.g., keyboard, mouse, track ball, touchscreen) coupled to computer 1902, an optional communications interface1950 coupled to computer 1902, a computer-program product 1905 stored ina tangible computer-readable memory in computer 1902. Computer-programproduct 1905 directs computer system 1900 to perform the above-describedmethods. Computer 1902 may include one or more processors 1960 thatcommunicate with a number of peripheral devices via a bus subsystem1990. These peripheral devices may include user output device(s) 1930,user input device(s) 1940, communications interface 1950, and a storagesubsystem, such as random access memory (RAM) 1970 and non-volatilestorage drive 1980 (e.g., disk drive, optical drive, solid state drive),which are forms of tangible computer-readable memory.

Computer-program product 1905 may be stored in non-volatile storagedrive 1980 or another computer-readable medium accessible to computer1902 and loaded into random access memory (RAM) 1970. Each processor1960 may comprise a microprocessor, such as a microprocessor from Intel®or Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.®, or the like. To supportcomputer-program product 1905, the computer 1902 runs an operatingsystem that handles the communications of computer-program product 1905with the above-noted components, as well as the communications betweenthe above-noted components in support of the computer-program product1905. Exemplary operating systems include Windows® or the like fromMicrosoft Corporation, Solaris® from Sun Microsystems, LINUX, UNIX, andthe like.

User input devices 1940 include all possible types of devices andmechanisms to input information to computer 1902. These may include akeyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a scanner, a digital drawing pad, a touchscreen incorporated into the display, audio input devices such as voicerecognition systems, microphones, and other types of input devices. Invarious embodiments, user input devices 1940 are typically embodied as acomputer mouse, a trackball, a track pad, a joystick, wireless remote, adrawing tablet, a voice command system. User input devices 1940typically allow a user to select objects, icons, text and the like thatappear on the monitor 1906 via a command such as a click of a button orthe like. User output devices 1930 include all possible types of devicesand mechanisms to output information from computer 1902. These mayinclude a display (e.g., monitor 1906), printers, non-visual displayssuch as audio output devices, etc.

Communications interface 1950 provides an interface to othercommunication networks, such as communication network 1995, and devicesand may serve as an interface to receive data from and transmit data toother systems, WANs and/or the Internet. Embodiments of communicationsinterface 1950 typically include an Ethernet card, a modem (telephone,satellite, cable, ISDN), a (asynchronous) digital subscriber line (DSL)unit, a FireWire® interface, a USB®, interface, a wireless networkadapter, and the like. For example, communications interface 1950 may becoupled to a computer network, to a FireWire® bus, or the like. In otherembodiments, communications interface 1950 may be physically integratedon the motherboard of computer 1902, and/or may be a software program,or the like.

RAM 1970 and non-volatile storage drive 1980 are examples of tangiblecomputer-readable media configured to store data such ascomputer-program product embodiments of the present invention, includingexecutable computer code, human-readable code, or the like. Other typesof tangible computer-readable media include floppy disks, removable harddisks, optical storage media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, bar codes,semiconductor memories such as flash memories, read-only-memories(ROMs), battery-backed volatile memories, networked storage devices, andthe like. RAM 1970 and non-volatile storage drive 1980 may be configuredto store the basic programming and data constructs that provide thefunctionality of various embodiments of the present invention, asdescribed above.

Software instruction sets that provide the functionality of the presentinvention may be stored in RAM 1970 and non-volatile storage drive 1980.These instruction sets or code may be executed by the processor(s) 1960.RAM 1970 and non-volatile storage drive 1980 may also provide arepository to store data and data structures used in accordance with thepresent invention. RAM 1970 and non-volatile storage drive 1980 mayinclude a number of memories including a main random access memory (RAM)to store instructions and data during program execution and a read-onlymemory (ROM) in which fixed instructions are stored. RAM 1970 andnon-volatile storage drive 1980 may include a file storage subsystemproviding persistent (non-volatile) storage of program and/or datafiles. RAM 1970 and non-volatile storage drive 1980 may also includeremovable storage systems, such as removable flash memory.

Bus subsystem 1990 provides a mechanism to allow the various componentsand subsystems of computer 1902 to communicate with each other asintended. Although bus subsystem 1990 is shown schematically as a singlebus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem may utilize multiplebusses or communication paths within the computer 1902.

It should be noted that the methods, systems, and devices discussedabove are intended merely to be examples. It must be stressed thatvarious embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, it should be appreciated that,in alternative embodiments, the methods may be performed in an orderdifferent from that described, and that various steps may be added,omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to certainembodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Differentaspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in a similarmanner. Also, it should be emphasized that technology evolves and, thus,many of the elements are examples and should not be interpreted to limitthe scope of the invention.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practicedwithout these specific details. For example, well-known, processes,structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail inorder to avoid obscuring the embodiments. This description providesexample embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope,applicability, or configuration of the invention. Rather, the precedingdescription of the embodiments will provide those skilled in the artwith an enabling description for implementing embodiments of theinvention. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangementof elements without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a processwhich is depicted as a flow diagram or block diagram. Although each maydescribe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operationscan be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order ofthe operations may be rearranged. A process may have additional stepsnot included in the figure.

Having described several embodiments, it will be recognized by those ofskill in the art that various modifications, alternative constructions,and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of theinvention. For example, the above elements may merely be a component ofa larger system, wherein other rules may take precedence over orotherwise modify the application of the invention. Also, a number ofsteps may be undertaken before, during, or after the above elements areconsidered. Accordingly, the above description should not be taken aslimiting the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hazard detector, comprising: a case, the casehaving an interior and a plurality of exterior surfaces, wherein theinterior of the case houses components of the hazard detector, a firstexterior surface of the plurality of exterior surfaces is configured tomount with a wall or ceiling, and a second exterior surface of theplurality of exterior surfaces, located on an opposite side of the casefrom the first exterior surface; a plurality of hazard sensors housed inthe interior of the case, the plurality of hazard sensors detect thepresence of a plurality of types of hazards; a user input component toreceive user input, the user input component being located on the secondexterior surface of the case; a light that emits light, the lightcomprising a plurality of lighting elements, wherein: the light iscapable of illuminating in a plurality of colors and a plurality ofanimation patterns; and when the plurality of lighting elements isilluminated, light output by the light encircles the user inputcomponent; and a processing system in communication with the pluralityof hazard sensors, the user input component, and the light, theprocessing system comprising at least one processor that is configuredto: determine a state of the hazard detector; and cause the light toilluminate using at least one color of the plurality of colors and ananimation pattern of the plurality of animation patterns in response tothe determined state of the hazard detector.
 2. The hazard detector ofclaim 1, further comprising a presence sensor wherein the processingsystem is in communication with the presence sensor and the processingsystem is further configured to: receive information indicative of auser presence from the presence sensor while causing the light toilluminate using the at least one color and the animation pattern; andalter the animation pattern used to illuminate the light in response toreceiving the information indication of the user presence.
 3. The hazarddetector of claim 1, further comprising a microphone wherein theprocessing system is in communication with the microphone and theprocessing system is further configured to: receive audio data from themicrophone while causing the light to illuminate using the at least onecolor and the animation pattern; and modulate illumination of the lightbased on the received audio data from the microphone.
 4. The hazarddetector of claim 3, wherein the processing system being configured tomodulate illumination of the light based on the received audio data fromthe microphone comprises the processing system being configured tomodule illumination of the light based on a volume of a user's voicereceived by the microphone.
 5. The hazard detector of claim 1, whereinthe processing system is further configured to: access a stored lookuptable that relates the plurality of states to the plurality of colorsand the plurality of animations; and identify the at least one colorassociated with the determined state and the animation patternassociated with the determined state.
 6. The hazard detector of claim 1,wherein the plurality of animations comprises a rotating animation inwhich lighting elements of the plurality of lighting elements aresequentially increased and decreased in brightness around thering-shaped light.
 7. The hazard detector of claim 1, wherein the lightcomprises: a light ring that receives and disperses light generated bythe plurality of lighting elements, wherein the light ring comprises aplurality of recessed regions, wherein a lighting element of theplurality of lighting elements is proximate to a recessed region of theplurality of recessed regions.
 8. The hazard detector of claim 7,wherein the plurality of lighting elements is a plurality of lightemitting diodes (LEDs) and each LED is positioned within a recesscreated by the plurality of recessed regions.
 9. The hazard detector ofclaim 8, wherein light output by the ring-shaped light substantiallydefines an edge of the user input component.
 10. The hazard detector ofclaim 9, wherein the plurality of LEDs is located between the user inputcomponent and the first exterior surface of the case of the hazarddetector.
 11. The hazard detector of claim 10, further comprising apassive infrared (PIR) detector, wherein the PIR detector is configuredto sense infrared light through the button, wherein the button isconfigured to function as a lens.
 12. A method for illuminating a lightof a hazard detector, the method comprising: determining, by the hazarddetector, a state of the hazard detector; and accessing, by the hazarddetector, a stored lookup table that relates a plurality of states ofthe hazard detector to a plurality of colors and a plurality ofanimations; identifying, by the hazard detector, using the stored lookuptable, at least one color associated with the determined state and theanimation pattern associated with the determined state; and causing, bythe hazard detector, the light of the hazard detector to illuminateusing the identified at least one color of the plurality of colors andthe identified animation pattern of the plurality of animation patterns.13. The method for illuminating the light of the hazard detector ofclaim 12, wherein causing the light of the hazard detector to illuminatecomprises: encircling a user input component with light output by thelight using the identified at least one color and the identifiedanimation pattern.
 14. The method for illuminating the light of thehazard detector of claim 12, further comprising: receiving, by thehazard detector, information indicative of a user presence while causingthe light to illuminate using the at least one color and the animationpattern; and altering, by the hazard detector, the identified animationpattern used to illuminate the light in response to receiving theinformation indication of the user presence.
 15. The method forilluminating the light of the hazard detector of claim 12, furthercomprising: capturing, by the hazard detector, audio data while causingthe light to illuminate using the at least one color and the animationpattern; and modulating, by the hazard detector, illumination of thelight based on the captured audio data.
 16. The method for illuminatingthe light of the hazard detector of claim 12, wherein causing the lightof the hazard detector to illuminate comprises: causing the light of thehazard detector to illuminate using a rotating animation, wherein therotating animation comprises illuminating a plurality of lightingelements of the light sequentially around the light.
 17. The method forilluminating the light of the hazard detector of claim 12, furthercomprising: detecting, using the hazard detector, a presence of ahazard, wherein the hazard is selected from the group consisting of: asmoke hazard and a carbon monoxide hazard.
 18. A hazard detectorapparatus, the hazard detector apparatus comprising: means for detectinga presence of a hazard; means for determining a state of the hazarddetector apparatus, wherein the means for determining the state of thehazard detector apparatus comprises checking a status of the means fordetecting the presence of the hazard; means for accessing a storagemeans that relates a plurality of states of the hazard detectorapparatus to a plurality of colors and a plurality of animations; meansfor identifying, using the storage means, at least one color associatedwith the determined state and the animation pattern associated with thedetermined state; and means for causing a lighting means of the hazarddetector apparatus to illuminate using the identified at least one colorof the plurality of colors and the identified animation pattern of theplurality of animation patterns.
 19. The hazard detector apparatus ofclaim 18, wherein the means for causing the light of the hazard detectorapparatus to illuminate comprises means for encircling a user inputmeans with light using the identified at least one color and theidentified animation pattern.
 20. The hazard detector apparatus of claim19, further comprising: means for receiving information indicative of auser presence while causing the lighting means to illuminate using theat least one color and the animation pattern; and means for altering theidentified animation pattern used to illuminate the lighting means inresponse to receiving the information indication of the user presence.